Price,  Fifty  Cents 


THE  SCOVHL  &  ADAMS  COMPANY, 

423  Broome  Street,  New  York. 


THE  MODERN  PRACTICE 

OF 

RETOUCHING 

NEGATIVES, 

AS  PRACTICED  BY 

FRENCH,  GERMAN,  ENGLISH  k  AMERICAN  EXPERTS. 


FOURTH  EDITION. 

Revised  and  Enlarged. 


NEW  YORK: 

THE  SCOVILL  &  ADAMS  COMPANY, 
423  Broome  Street. 


1889. 


PREFACE. 


Eetouching  is  a  branch  of  photographic  art  that  has  taken 
firm  root  in  all  directions,  and  by  its  judicious  use  has  con- 
ferred a  beauty  upon  negatives  previously  unknown.  It  is  to 
be  regretted  that  some  carry  it  to  such  an  extent  as  to  far 
transcend  its  legitimate  functions  and  entirely  destroy  the 
likeness  in  the  desire  to  flatter  the  subject. 

It  is  well  said  that  the  legitimate  functions  of  retouching  are 
the  removal  of  blemishes  and  the  correction  of  such  inequalities 
as  those  caused  in  the  photographic  reproduction  of  colors, 
which  are  often  untrue  to  nature.  Its  debatable  sphere  is  the 
softening  of  shadows  and  lines  in  the  features  in  conjunction 
with  attempts  to  alter  the  expression. 

The  author  of  the  first  part  of  this  book  refers  to  the  treat- 
ment and  retouching  of  collodion  negatives,  but  his  technics 
are  exceedingly  well  adapted  to  retouching  upon  gelatine 
films. 

The  latter  part  contains  instructions  for  retouching  on  gela- 
tine negatives  as  practiced  by  German,  English  and  American 
experts.  The  entire  book  has  been  thoroughly  revised,  con- 
siderably enlarged,  and  brought  down  to  date  by 

The  Editor. 

New  York  City,  January,  1889. 


CONTENTS. 


PAGE. 

CHAPTER  I. 

Retouching — Its  Use  and  Place   5 

CHAPTER  n. 

Materials  Necessary  for  Negative  Retouching   7 

CHAPTER  HI. 

Different  Surfaces  for  Touching  on  Collodion  Films   9 

CHAPTER  IV. 

How  TO  Retouch   13 

CHAPTER  V. 

Copies   17 

CHAPTER  VI. 

Positives     20 

CHAPTER  VII. 

Enlargements   22 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

Landscapes   25 

CHAPTER  IX. 

Preparing  the  Gelatine  Negative  for  Retouching  28 

CHAPTER  X. 

The  Easel  and  Lighting   32 

CHAPTER  XI. 

Retouching  Details   34 

CHAPTER  XII. 

Hints  from  the  German  Methods  of  Retouching  38 

APPENDIX. 

Retouching  Large  Heads   40 

Retouching  Gelatine  Negatives  with  Red  Chalk  and  Black 

Crayon   42 

Retouching  the  Negative  by  Chemical  Means   44 


Retouching  Collodion  Negatves. 

AS  PRACTICED  BY  M.  PIQUEPE. 


CHAPTEE  I. 

EETOUCHING— ITS   USE   AXD  PLACE. 

The  retouching  of  photographic  negatives  has  become  much 
more  general  during  the  last  few  years.  I  shall  not  here  seek 
to  prove  the  practical  utility  of  it ;  the  favor  with  which  the 
custom  has  been  received  by  photographers  in  general  is  a  suf- 
ficient proof  of  it.  Unfortunately,  it  has  been  in  this  as  in  all 
other  arts ;  a  great  many  indijfferent  operators,  imagining  that 
it  was  sufficient  to  work  more  or  less  on  a  face,  to  add  or  take 
away  in  certain  places,  without  discretion,  cleverness  or  taste, 
have  rushed  into  this  work  and  have  produced  results  so  gro- 
tesque and  ridiculous  that  there  are  even  now  experienced  per- 
sons who  deny  that  retouching  is  a  means  of  improving  their 
work.  This  is  certainly  a  mistake,  because,  though  there  are 
bad  retouchers,  yet  there  are  very  clever  disciples  of  this  new 
art.  And  this  is  so  true  that  in  many  studios  the  operator 
trusts  entirely  to  the  skill  of  the  retoucher.  He  troubles  him- 
self very  little  with  his  manipulations ;  he  cares  little  whether 
his  sitter  is  well  or  badly  lighted ;  whether  his  negatives  are 
free  from  spots  or  stains ;  if  the  negative  is  sharp  and  not  too 
hard,  the  retouching,  he  thinks,  will  do  all  the  rest.  In  other 
studios  the  operator  is  instructed  to  produce  thin  negatives 
without  any  vigor,  but  over-exposed  and  full  of  detail;  no 
bright  lights  are  left,  the  whole  is  flat  and  dead,  and  the  re- 


6 


THE  MODERN  PRACTICE  OF  RETOUCHING. 


toncher  must  give  life  to  everything.  This  I  do  not  hesitate  to 
say  is  all  wrong.  Probably  in  this  way  the  public  get  prints 
which  flatter  their  caprice,  but  an  experienced  eye  will  soon 
detect  the  faults  of  these  productions,  and  will  condemn  them 
at  once  from  an  artistic  point  of  view,  for  everything  is  rounded 
and  cut  off  ;  the  figure  and  the  background  appear  to  be  stuck 
one  on  the  other ;  there  is  no  depth,  no  atmosphere — nothing 
but  mechanical  work,  sometimes  cleverly  done,  but  powerless 
to  give  truthful  pictures. 

Looking  at  it  in  this  way,  it  is  true  that  retouching  Iras  done 
more  harm  than  good  to  photography;  but  it  must  be  acknowl- 
edged that  this  sort  of  work  is  not  general.  There  are  photog- 
raphers who  have  appropriated  this  new  means  to  their  require- 
ments, only  using  it  as  a  remedy  for  inevitable  faults  in  pho- 
tographic manipulations.  These  persons  are  right,  and  we  all 
admire  their  works. 

Therefore,  I  cannot  lay  it  down  too  clearly,  that  retouching, 
even  when  done  by  a  real  artist,  should  be  considered  only  as 
a  necessary  continuation  of  very  careful  work ;  not  that  the 
part  of  the  retoucher  is  inferior  to  that  of  the  operator,  but 
that  the  two  should  work  so  well  together  that  the  final  result 
will  be  arrived  at  through  the  cleverness  of  both. 

It  is  not  everybody  who  can  touch  well.  It  is  a  work  requir- 
ing a  great  deal  of  taste,  lightness  of  hand,  close  application, 
and  great  patience,  all  of  which  qualities  few  people  possess. 
But  every  photographer  is  capable  of  correcting  in  his  nega- 
tives all  faults  which  may  occur,  no  matter  how  skilled  the 
operator  may  be. 

These  are  the  means  which  I  shall  describe  as  clearly  and 
practically  as  possible  in  the  following  pages,  avoiding  entering 
into  superfluous  details  of  science,  or,  rather,  of  anatomy,  a 
knowledge  of  which  being  in  no  way  indispensable,  and  vdiich 
could  only  puzzle  the  learner,  and  in  all  probability  lead  him 
astray.  Perhaps  even  a  clever  retoucher  may  learn  some  hints 
from  them,  while  those  who  wish  to  learn  the  art  will  find,  I 
am  sure,  clear  explanations,  and  will  be  enabled  to  succeed  at 
once,  without  going  into  a  too  exaggerated  style  of  work. 


CHAPTEE  II. 

MATERIALS  NECESSARY  FOR  NEGATIVE  RETOUCHING. 

The  first  thing  wanted  is  an  easel  on  which  to  work.  This 
should  be  a  piece  of  fine  ground  glass  in  a  frame,  on  which 
the  negative  is  placed.  The  bottom  of  this  frame  has  hinges 
as  well  as  the  top,  which  retain  a  cover  of  wood  kept  open  by 
means  of  small  supports,  which  are  lying  on  the  sides  of  the 
frame  of  the  ground  glass.  The 
necessary  slant  is  given  to  this  by 
means  of  two  other  supports,  en- 
tering at  will  into  some  notches 
on  the  edges  of  the  surface  of  a 
flat  and  square  box,  of  which  the 
middle  is  covered  by  a  looking 
glass  reflecting  the  light  under 
the  negative.  Several  carriers, 
same  size  as  the  ordinary  photographic  glasses,  and  fitting  one 
into  the  other,  stop  completely  the  light  round  the  negative. 
A  little  m.ovable  rule  goes  up  and  down  in  front  of  the  ground 
glass,  and  serves  as  a  rest  for  the  hand  of  the  retoucher.  This 
easel  should  be  put  upon  a  table  before  a  window  with  a  north 
aspect.  As  there  should  be  no  light  except  what  illuminates 
the  negative,  a  black  blind  should  be  thrown  over  the  top,  and 
to  fall  down  each  side.  There  are  easels  sold  on  purpose, 
and  provided  even  with  wooden  shutters,  which  are  kept  open 
by  hooks  fitting  into  the  top  shutter.  The  retoucher  is  thus 
inclosed  in  a  box,  and  gets  no  light  except  what  comes  through 
the  negative. 

The  choice  of  pencils  and  brushes  is  very  important.  The 
"  Faber  "  Siberian  Graphite  Pencil  of  various  grades  of  hard- 
ness being  considered  the  best,  and  are  universally  employed. 


8 


THE  MODERN  PRACTICE  OF  RETOUCHING. 


For  cutting  these  pencils,  nse  a  little  file,  on  which  they 
should  be  rubbed,  or  very  fine  emery  paper  cut  into  narrow 
slips. 

The  brushes  should  be  sable,  and  very  soft.  It  is  very  difii- 
cult  to  get  good  brushes,  so  they  should  be  chosen  with  great 
care.  They  must  be  pretty  thick,  not  too  long,  and  with  a 
very  good  point.  All  this  will  be  easily  found  out  by  dipping 
them  in  water  and  bending  them  about.  If  a  brush,  then,  at 
once  makes  a  fine  point,  it  is  a  good  one. 

The  two  colors  most  required  in  negative  retouching  are 
Indian  ink  and  light  blue.  The  first  is  the  most  opaque  color, 
but  as  the  tint  is  the  nearest  to  the  negative,  it  will  permit  of 
finer  work. 

A  magnifying  glass  may  be  used,  which  will  render  some 
parts  more  apparent — for  instance,  if  a  very  small  head  is  be- 
ing done — but  for  general  work  it  magnifies  the  faults  too 
much,  and  the  general  effect  and  modeling  are  lost  in  paying 
too  much  attention  to  detail. 

Finally,  stumps  of  diJfferent  sizes,  and  a  very  soft  camel's-hair 
brush  for  dusting  the  surface  during  the  operation,  will  com- 
plete the  list  of  necessary  implements  for  the  retoucher. 


CIIAPTErv  III. 


DIFFERENT  SURFACES  FOR  TOUCHING  ON  COLLODION  FILMS. 

Maj^y  discussions  liave  been  raised  as  to  which  varnish  gives 
the  best  surface  for  touching  on,  and  many  methods  have  been 
proposed.  Gum  arabic  dissolved  in  water  has  long  been  used ; 
but  there  are  certain  drawbacks  to  this  method  which  have 
caused  it  to  be  very  generally  abandoned.  The  solution  must 
not  be  too  strong,  or  the  pencil  will  not  mark  on  it ;  and  as, 
in  damp  weather,  it  is  never  perfectly  dry,  working  on  it  is 
somewhat  dangerous.  Besides,  the  density  both  of  the  nega- 
tive and  of  the  touches  on  it  changes  after  being  varnished, 
and  gum  being  so  easily  affected  by  damp,  the  collodion  films 
will  be  sure  to  suffer  more  or  less. 

Dr.  Yan  Monckhoven  advises  the  use  of  a  varnish  com- 
posed as  follows  :  Make  a  concentrated  solution  of  carbonate  of 
ammonia,  to  which  add  some  ordinary  shellac  ;  let  stand  for 
twenty-four  hours,  and,  having  decanted  off  the  clear  part,  add 
to  it  an  equal  quantity  of  water ;  heat  this  to  boiling  point 
stirring  all  the  time,  and  there  will  then  be  a  brown  solution 
of  shellac  in  the  proportion  of  eight  parts  to  one  hundred 
parts  of  water.  Filter  before  use.  This  solution  must  smell 
of  shellac ;  if  it  smells  of  ammonia,  it  will  not  have  been 
properly  prepared.  Apply  two  coatings  of  this  to  the  nega- 
tive after  it  has  been  washed  and  drained.  When  dry  the 
film  is  brilliant,  insoluble  in  water,  and  hard  enough  not  to 
require  any  other  varish  if  only  a  few  prints  are  required. 
The  negative  can,  however,  be  varnished  as  usual,  and  the 
second  coating,  being  quite  unable  to  penetrate  the  first,  will 
not  cause  any  change  either  in  the  density  of  the  negative  or 
the  touches  on  it. 


10 


THE  MODERN  PRACTICE  OF  RETOUCHING. 


It  lias  become  very  general  of  late  to  find  retouching  done 
on  the  varnish  itself,  though  there  are  no  varnishes  made  for 
touching  on  which  quite  answer  the  purpose  ;  most  of  them 
do  not  take  the  pencil  well  enough  to  allow  of  a  very  fine  and 
careful  touching,  while  others  fall  into  the  other  extreme,  so 
that  regular  work  is  impossible.  Besides,  in  most  of  the  ex- 
periments in  this  matter,  and  in  formulas  given,  people  ap- 
pear to  think  more  about  getting  a  soft  surface  than  to  get  a 
strong  protection  for  the  collodion  film,  which  appears  to  me 
to  be  a  most  important  thing.  Por  this  reason  I  do  not  ad- 
vise the  use  of  any  cold  varnishes  ;  they  do  not  resist  suffi- 
ciently the  change  of  the  temperature,  and  often  cause  the  loss 
of  negatives.  However,  as  it  is  sometimes  desirable  to  use  a 
retouching  varnish,  I  give  the  following  formulas : 


Ko.  1. 

Shellac,            -          -  -          125  parts. 

Gum  sandarac,        -          -  -     120  " 

E,osin,   -  5 

Castor  oil,    -          -          -  -  10 

Alcohol,           -          -  .          500  " 

Dissolve  the  gums  in  the  alcohol,  let  stand  a  day,  and  add  the 
castor  oil. 

Xo.  2. 

Ko.  1. — Alcolol,            -  -  80  parts 

Sandarac,    -          -  -     15  " 

Turpentine,      -  -  5  " 

Oil  of  lavender,      -  -       4  " 

No.  2.— Alcohol,           -  -  22  parts. 

Ether,        -          -  -  2 

Camphor         -  -  5  " 

Distilled  water,       -  -  10 

Mix  the  two  solutions,  let  stand  some  days,  and  filter.  This 
formula  is  very  much  used. 


DIFFEEENT  SURFACES  FOK  TOUCHING  ON. 


U 


m.  3. 

Gum  sandarac,  -  -  30  parts. 

Castor  oil,  -  -  -  6 

Alcohol,        -  -  -  -   18  " 

Dissolve  the  sandarac  in  the  alcohol,  and  afterward  add  the 
castor  oil. 

These  varnishes  are  to  be  used  hot.  The  greatest  drawback 
to  them  is  that  they  depend  too  much  on  the  amount  of  heat- 
ing given  to  the  negative.  If  applied  too  hot  the  surface  is 
very  brilliant,  and  so  hard  that  the  pencil  leaves  no  mark ;  if, 
on  the  contrary,  it  has  not  been  sufficiently  heated,  the  film  is 
soft,  and  scratches  easily. 

What  appears  to  me  to  be  the  easiest  and  safest  way  is  as 
follows :  Use  a  very  hard  and  brilliant  varnish,  and  deaden 
the  parts  about  to  be  touched  with  the  following  solution  : 

Pure  turpentine,    -  -  -     100  parts. 

Gum  dammar,  -  -  5  " 

Apply  this  to  the  varnish  with  a  rather  dry  brush ;  let  dry 
three  or  four  hours.  This  may  be  used  with  all  hot  varnishes 
which  do  not  contain  castor  or  lavender  oils. 

Another  method  of  making  all  varnishes  fit  for  touching  on 
is  the  following :  With  a  piece  of  cotton  wool  take  a  little 
emery  powder  or  cuttle-fish,  and  rub  over  the  part  to  be 
touched  till  the  surface  becomes  mat  and  takes  the  pencil  mark 
easily.  This  operation  should  be  done  over  the  ground  glass 
of  the  desk,  great  care  being  taken  not  to  damage  the  collodion 
film  by  rubbing  too  hard.  This  way  takes  a  longer  time,  and 
is  less  certain  than  the  other  ;  besides,  the  surface  obtained  is 
not  always  uniform,  and  the  pencil,  therefore,  works  irregu- 
larly. At  times  the  varnish  is  too  forcibly  abraded,  and  as  a  re- 
sult of  this  a  halo  of  light  shows  in  tbe  printed  proof.  In  such 
cases  the  retouched  negative  should  be  heated  enough  to  re- 
store the  original  transparency  of  the  varnish. 


12 


THE  MODERN  PRACTICE  OF  RETOUCHING. 


The  S.  p.  C.  E-etouching  Fluid  having  lately  come  into 
prominence,  answers  exceedingly  well,  as  pencils  of  any  de- 
gree of  hardness  take  well  to  it. 

A  few  drops  of  this  fluid  distributed  evenly  over  the  sur- 
face of  the  portions  of  the  negative  to  be  retouched,  will  pro- 
duce a  thin  cuticle  of  the  medium,  which  after  an  hour's  drying 
offers  a  fine  surface  without  grit,  to  work  upon.  Errors  made 
in  retouching  may  be  corrected  by  wiping  off  the  pencil  marks 
with  a  finely  pointed  stump,  moistened  with  spirits  of  turpen- 
tine, and  again  retouching  this  portion  of  the  negative. 


CHAPTEE  IV. 


HOW  TO  RETOUCH. 

Before  beginning  to  toucli,  tlie  artist  sliould  examine  liis 
negative  well,  so  as  to  decide  what  lie  will  do  to  get  tlie  best 
effects.  If  the  negative  is  faultless  as  to  lighting,  the  half 
tints  well  defined,  and  the  shadows  are  not  too  black,  the  work 
will  be  easy.  There  will  only  be  the  little  inequalities  of  the 
skin  to  take  out,  to  gently  soften  parts  that  always  come  out 
too  hard,  such  as  the  shadows  under  the  eyes,  nose  and  chin. 

Always  begin  with  the  highest  light,  which  is  the  most 
opaque  part  of  the  negative.  Touch  out  all  little  transparent 
specks,  which  is  done  by  leaning  the  point  of  the  pencil, 
which  must  be  very  finely  cut,  on  to  the  middle  of  the  spot. 
The  pencil  must  be  so  used  that  the  lines  made  by  it  are  not 
more  opaque  than  the  surrounding  part  of  the  negative,  and 
put  the  touches  as  close  together  as  possible,  in  order  to  get  an 
even  result.  So  that  the  whole  "shall  blend  well  together,  the 
point  of  the  pencil  must  work  over  all  the  specks  and  spots 
that  have  to  be  eradicated,  and  go  gradually  downward  from 
the  forehead  to  the  eye,  then  the  nose,  mouth,  and  chin,  in  one 
continuous  motion. 

If,  when  all  this  is  done,  the  negative  looks  flat  and  thin,  it 
will  be  necessary  to  think  about  giving  effects  of  light.  To 
do  this,  begin  again  at  the  upper  part  of  the  forehead ;  put  a 
few  well-rounded  lines  over  the  eyebrows,  then  a  short  line  on 
the  bridge  of  the  nose,  starting  from  a  little  below  the  eye- 
brow ;  then,  further  down,  a  point  of  light  which  will  round 
off  the  end  and  bring  it  well  in  relief ;  the  same  on  the  upper 
part  of  the  cheek  bones,  on  the  lips,  and  chin.  All  this  must 
be  done  with  a  delicate  hand,  though  the  lights  must  be  well 


14 


THE  MODERN  PRACTICE  OF  RETOUCHING. 


defined  by  the  little  fine  touches,  always  avoiding  a  regular 
hatching  appearance.  The  touches  should  become  less  opaque 
toward  the  lower  part  of  the  face  ;  the  principal  lights  being 
on  the  top  of  the  forehead,  over  the  eyebrows,  the  bridge  of 
the  nose,  and  the  cheek  bone ;  the  side  of  the  nose,  the  corners 
of  the  mouth,  and  the  cheek  being  the  middle  tints,  while 
under  the  eyebrows,  the  eyes,  the  line  indicated  by  the  aisle  of 
the  nose,  underneath  the  nose,  and  the  line  of  the  chin,  are  in 
the  deepest  shadow. 

With  old  people  some  lines  and  wrinkles  may  be  taken 
out,  but  not  all  of  them,  or  else  the  character  of  the  face  is 
lost. 

With  very  thin  faces  avoid  working  too  much  on  the  hol- 
lows, on  the  forehead,  temples,  and  cheeks,  or  the  face  will  be- 
come too  rounded,  and  the  resemblance  gone. 

All  these  things  must  be  determined  upon  by  examining  the 
negatives  very  carefully  from  different  distances,  as  it  is  im- 
possible to  judge  of  the  effect  of  the  touches  and  the  general 
harmony  of  the  picture  by  looking  at  it  closely. 

It  sometimes  happens  that  the  shadows  under  the  eyes  are 
too  dark  to  be  worked  upon  by  the  pencil  In  this  case  a 
brush  must  be  used,  and  Indian  ink  mixed  with  water.  The 
brush  must  be  very  finely  pointed,  and  with  little  color  in  it, 
and  nearly  dry  ;  as,  if  the  color  is  put  on  very  wet,  the  density 
of  the  work  would  change  in  drying,  and  the  retouching 
would  be  very  rough  and  take  longer  to  do.  This  mode  of 
touching  may  be  used  with  advantage  on  places  where  the 
pencil  alone  does  not  give  a  sufficiently  strong  tint. 

Negatives  that  have  been  too  much  intensified  with  pyro- 
gallic  acid  are  very  difficult  to  work  upon,  on  account  of  the 
opacity  of  the  lights  and  the  hard  transparency  of  the  shadows. 
The  same  may  be  said  of  negatives  taken  with  a  weak  silver 
bath,  or  under-exposed  ones.  As  no  one  is  likely  only  to 
have  to  do  with  perfect  negatives,  it  will  be  useful  to  know 
what  are  the  best  means  to  be  employed  in  order  to  improve 
imperfect  ones.  In  the  first  place,  as  usual,  a  very  black  pen- 
cil must  be  used,  also  a  brush  and  Indian  ink,  as  just  described. 


HOW   TO  RETOUCH. 


15 


for  the  transparent  shadows.  Clean  the  back  very  well,  and 
pour  on  it,  in  the  same  manner  as  if  collodionizing  a  plate, 
Hance's  ground-glass  varnish.  When  dry,  this  should  give 
an  even  white  surface,  almost  like  very  fine  ground  glass, 
on  which  the  pencil  will  work  beautifully,  and  the  touch- 
ing, done  with  great  discretion  on  the  back  of  the  nega- 
tive, gives  a  very  soft  appearance  to  the  prints.  This 
mode  of  retouching  may  be  very  profitably  employed  for 
very  large  heads.  A  finer  work  will  be  done  on  the  parts 
which  it  has  been  impossible  to  finish  on  the  collodion 
side.  Thus,  in  j^laces  that  are  too  transparent — in  the  hair,  for 
instance,  or  the  beard — ^put  in  a  few  lights ;  under  the  eyes  and 
nose  soften  the  shadows,  which  are  always  too  strong  in  that 
part  of  the  negative  ;  and  if  the  forehead,  the  cheek,  and  the 
lighted  side  be  too  dense,  with  a  penknife  scratch  the  varnish 
at  these  places,  so  that  they  may  print  through  quicker,  taking 
care  to  leave  soft  edges  to  avoid  hardness  in  printing,  which  is 
easily  done  by  cutting  the  outlines  into  indentures  unequally 
pinked.  By  these  means  it  will  be  easy  to  improve  bad  nega- 
tives, but  the  density  will  be  then  greater.  The  lighting  of 
the  clothing  must  now  be  proceeded  with.  All  the  parts 
requiring  lighting  must  be  gone  over  with  a  stump  dipped  in 
lead  powder,  following  all  the  folds  of  the  drapery,  etc.,  apply- 
ing the  end  of  the  stump  to  the  middle  of  the  part  to  be  lit 
and  then  softening  off  the  edges  with  another  larger  and  clean 
stump.  This  part  of  the  work  may  also  be  done  with  a  brush 
moistened  with  Indian  ink.  The  results  thus  obtained  are  the 
same ;  tlieref ore,  the  retoucher  can  choose  whichever  method 
he  prefers. 

Sometimes  the  white  varnish  does  not  give  the  required 
opacity ;  if  so,  the  same  varnish,  to  which  add  a  few  drops  of 
a  solution  of  iodine  in  alcohol,  may  be  used.  This  will  give  a 
more  or  less  yellow  film,  through  which  the  light  will  pass 
slowly.  Eetouching  can  be  done  on  this  surface  either  by 
means  of  a  stump  or  brush  ;  if  the  latter,  the  tint  of  the  Indian 
ink  may  be  softened  down  by  tapping  it  with  the  end  of  a  finger. 
These  two  varnishes  are  very  hard  and  solid  when  dry. 


IG  THE  MUDERK  PIIACTICE  OF  KETOUCHIITG. 

Some  work  may  be  done  with  tlie  pencil  on  the  neck, 
shoulders,  arms,  and  hands  ;  but  none  of  the  lines  of  muscles 
should  be  touched.  If  these  parts  are  too  fiat,  they  may  be 
strengthened  in  the  way  previously  described. 

Any  little  spots  or  holes  in  the  negative  should  be  touched 
with  Indian  ink  or  light  blue.  It  will  be  easily  understood 
how  useful  this  kind  of  touching  may  be  when  well  done,  as 
by  means  of  it  passable  or  even  bad  negatives  may  be  made 
to  give  almost  perfect  prints. 

Another  way  of  giving  a  good  effect  to  a  negative  is  to  dis- 
solve dragon's  blood  in  alcohol ;  add  a  few  drops  of  this,  ac- 
cording to  the  strength  of  tint  desired,  to  a  plain  collodion ; 
pour  this  on  the  back  of  tlie  negative,  removing  it  with  a  knife 
from  the  parts  to  be  kept  transparent.  This  method  is  not  so 
good  as  the  two  varnishes  previously  described,  because  the 
surface  is  too  tender  to  be  worked  upon  by  brush  or  pencil,  and 
very  apt  to  become  scratched  or  rubbed  ofE  in  printing.  How- 
ever, it  may  be  used  to  get  a  considerable  density  on  a  very 
thin  negative.  In  this  case  the  back  of  the  negative  is  covered 
with  a  layer  of  the  solution,  and  when  it  is  dry  remove  it  from 
the  most  opaque  portions,  and  varnish  all  over  with  benzole 
varnish,  which  will  solidify  the  other  and  give  a  good  surface 
for  touching  either  with  stump  or  brush. 


CHAPTEE  7. 

COPIES. 

jS^egatives  taken  f I'om  old  faded  photographs  are  sometimes 
very  dimcult  to  retouch,  Negatives  enlarged  from  photo- 
graphic cartes  always  have  a  very  granular  and  bad  effect,  and 
this  is  inevitable,  being  the  texture  of  the  paper  in  the  original. 
The  best  thing  to  do  is  to  use  gum  arable  solution,  as  mention- 
ed in  Chapter  III.,  applying  it  to  the  collodion  negative  when 
still  moist.  If  sufficient  density  cannot  be  gained,  varnish,  then 
work  with  a  pencil  over  all  the  parts  that  will  take  it,  and 
finish  off  with  a  brush. 

It  is  better  to  aim  at  general  effect  than  great  fineness  in 
touching,  for  it  will  be  found  impossible,  without  going  through 
very  long  and  complicated  work,  to  entirely  get  rid  of  the 
grain  of  the  paper.  Also,  the  retoucher  should  not  have  his 
eye  too  close  to  the  negative.  The  transparent  spots  must  be 
filled  in  by  means  of  very  fine  fines  drawn  in  the  direction  of 
the  spots ;  then  put  in  the  Rights  without  exaggerating  them, 
having,  if  possible,  the  original  at  hand  to  compare  with.  If 
the  negative  is  so  flat  that  neither  brush  nor  pencil  will  give 
the  desired  effect,  use  for  a  last  operation  Hance's  varnish  as 
previously  described. 

The  reproduction  of  daguerreotypes  is  less  difficult,  the 
negatives  being  free  from  all  texture ;  and  as  the  polished  sil- 
ver plates  show  a  very  bright  surface  to  the  light,  there  will 
only  be  the  modeling  and  general  softening  to  be  done. 

If  the  background  is  too  dark,  which  occurred  frequently 
with  Daguerreotypes,  and  it  is  thought  desirable  to  lighten 
it,  coat  the  back  of  the  negative  with  a  white  or  yellow 
varnish,  leave  it  to  evaporate  for  an  instant,  and  before  it  is 


18 


THE  MODERN  PKACTICE  OF  RETOUCHING. 


quite  dry,  run  a  line  with,  a  penknife  all  around  the  figure, 
from  wliicb.  remove  the  varnish,  only  leaving  it  on  the  back- 
ground, which  will  then  print  much  lighter.  In  removing  the 
varnish,  it  must  be  remembered  that  it  is  better  to  leave  a  little 
line  behind  the  figure  than  to  scrape  away  too  much.  If  it  is 
only  found  necessary  to  lighten  one  side  of  the  background, 
use  benzole  varnish,  and  then  the  stump,  on  the  place  wanted, 
taking  care  to  soften  the  edge  well  by  rubbing  with  the  finger 
or  cotton  wool. 

If,  on  the  other  hand,  a  white  background  has  to  be  changed 
into  a  black  one,  or  any  ugly  accessories  have  to  be  removed, 
proceed  as  follows :  Put  the  negative  on  the  touching  easel, 
and,  with  a  needle  stuck  into  a  piece  of  wood,  follow  the  out- 
line of  the  figure  with  great  precision,  scratching  through  the 
collodion  film.  In  this  operation  the  line  should  rather  im- 
pinge upon  the  background  than  upon  the  figure.  If  the  face 
is  turned  profile  or  three-quarter  face,  the  operation  is  very 
delicate,  and  wants  the  greatest  attention.  The  safest  way 
will  be  to  have  the  arm  very  firmly  supported.  In  going 
round  the  hair  will  be  scratched  into  indentures  as  fine  as  pos- 
sible; for  the  drapery,  etc.,  less  delicate  work  is  required. 
When  the  needle  has  been  all  around  the  edges,  take  a  rather 
thicker  point,  and  enlarge  the  line  drawn  by  the  needle.  It 
will  then  be  easier  and  quicker  to  remove  all  the  rest  of  the 
background  with  a  penknife.  If  this  can  be  done  on  the  col- 
lodion only,  the  surface,  being  soft,  will  take  much  less  time, 
and  the  negative  can  afterwards  be  varnished  in  the  usual  way. 
If  it  has  been  done  on  a  varnished  surface,  the  rest  of  the  film 
must  be  cleaned  off  with  a  few  drops  of  alcohol  rubbed  on 
with  some  silver  paper.  This  done,  the  whole  line  must  be 
softened,  as  the  needle  will  have  left  a  hard,  sharp  line.  With 
a  fine  brush  and  Indian  ink  stipple  lightly  all  round,  doing  it 
with  the  point  of  the  brush,  and  leaving  a  tiny  space  between 
each  touch.  This  work  must  be  done  finer  and  closer  as  it 
approaches  the  face,  and  requires  as  much  care  as  the  scratch- 
ing with  the  needle,  as  it  is  to  this  stippling  that  will  be  due  a 
softness  of  outline  in  the  prints  which  will  make  them  resemble 


COPIES. 


19 


those  done  with  a  natural  background.  The  back  of  the  nega- 
tive is  then  covered  with  either  a  white  or  a  red  varnish,  ac- 
cording to  the  effect  wished  for.  One  of  these  varnishes 
should  always  be  used  to  soften  the  outline,  and  make  the 
background  less  hard. 

An  intelligent  artist,  who,  after  a  little  practice,  is  able  to 
utilize  these  simple  methods,  will  be  surprised  at  the  results  he 
gets.  Besides,  what  I  have  said  about  copies  in  particular,  ap- 
plies equally  to  all  bad  negatives.  There  are  times  when  it 
would  be  very  desirable  to  be  able  to  render,  by  means  of  one 
of  these  methods,  if  not  perfect,  at  least  satisfactory,  a  negative 
which  would  have  been  judged  unable  to  give  a  tolerable  print, 
even  submitting  it  in  printing  to  the  most  complicated  manip- 
ulations. 


CHAPTEE  YI. 


POSITIYES. 

Positives  that  are  taken  in  order  to  get  enlarged  negative 
from  are  sometimes  imperfect ;  it  is  advisable  to  give  them  some 
retouching  which  would  give  great  f acihty  for  obtaining  large 
negatives.  If,  for  example,  there  was  a  scratch  on  the  collo- 
dion of  the  small  negative,  and  that  had  been  touched  out 
with  too  opaque  a  color,  that  would  make  a  white  place  on 
the  positive.  In  the  same  way  a  very  hard  negative  would 
give,  in  the  positive,  faces  too  white,  and  drapery,  etc.,  too 
black. 

The  work  is  done  the  same  as  in  a  negative,  only  in  a 
reversed  way,  as  if  one  were  touching  a  print ;  the  mark  of 
the  touching,  whether  done  by  brush  or  pencil,  tending  to 
hinder  the  light  going  through  in  the  sjDot.  When  a  positive 
is  being  taken,  the  parts  not  receiving  light  remain  perfectly 
white — that  is  to  say,  transparent ;  in  copying  this  positive,  all 
these  transparent  places  are  at  once  penetrated  by  the  light,  so 
that  all  effects  existing  in  the  original  negative  will  be  exactly 
reproduced  in  the  enlargement.  It  will,  then,  be  easily  under- 
stood that  by  touching  on  all  these  transparent  places  on  the 
positive,  the  defect  will  be  got  rid  of  as  it  will  be  wanted — 
defects,  besides,  which  it  would  be  impossible  to  remove  on 
the  enlargement.  It  is  only  under  these  circumstances  that  I 
advise  retouching  on  the  positive ;  because,  if  the  original 
negative  is  perfect,  and  also  the  positive  from  it,  no  touching 
will  be  required. 

It  is  even  better  not  to  touch  a  small  negative  that  is  going 
to  be  enlarged,  but  to  do  it  all  on  the  enlargement,  that  being 
easier  and  quicker.    If  the  positive  requires  much  touching. 


POSITIVES. 


21 


it  is  best  done  on  gum.  The  negative,  when  fixed  and 
washed,  is  covered  with  the  following  solution : 

Gum  arable,  -  -  -6  parts. 

Water,    -  -  -  -        100  " 

If  the  positive  is  to  be  kept,  it  is  better  not  to  gum  it,  but 
varnish  with  a  retouching  varnish.  I  should  not  advise  to 
use  hard  varnish.  As  there  comes  sometimes  a  sharp  line  of 
demarcation  where  the  brush  stops,  this  line  is  never  visible 
on  the  prints,  and  is  hardly  seen  on  the  small  negative ;  but  on 
the  enlargement  it  might  show  very  much,  and  necessitate 
much  labor  in  touching  out.  Still  less  should  emery  powder 
or  cuttle-fish  be  used,  which  always  give  lines ;  all  these 
means  will  be  in  this  case  completely  eliminated. 

The  touching  should  be  done  with  great  moderation.  The 
balf  tones  required  must  be  put  in  on  the  positive,  leaving 
intact  those  parts  which  have  been  touched  on  the  negative. 
It  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  negative  is  worked  for  ob- 
taining the  lights,  and  the  positive  for  obtaining  the  shadows — 
that  in  the  latter,  in  short,  the  effect  is  direct ;  the  work  will 
be,  consequently,  easier,  as  every  touch  shows  the  produced 
effect.  The  touches  should  be  a  little  less  deep  in  tone  than 
the  negative. 

Among  all  the  methods  that  I  have  described  for  the  im- 
provement of  negatives,  the  retoucher  will  select  the  one  which 
appears  to  suit  him  best. 


CHAPTER  YII. 


ENLABOEMENTS. 

It  has  not  always  been  usual  to  touch  enlarged  negatives, 
and  each  print  had  to  undergo  a  long  and  tedious  operation, 
which,  after  all,  very  often  gave  but  poor  results.  Besides,  the 
color  of  the  touches  always  remained  the  same,  and  as  silver 
prints  sooner  or  later  always  fade  or  turn  yellow,  the  results 
were  very  bad.  It  will  be  found  always  best  to  do  the  touch- 
ing on  the  negative. 

The  best  negatives  for  this  kind  of  work  are  very  thin  and 
transparent  ones — that  is  to  say,  it  is  much  better  to  have  an 
under-exposed  negative,  provided  it  is  not  hard,  than  one  full 
of  detail,  but  fogged  by  over-exposure. 

Either  gum  or  varnish  can  be  used.  The  retouching  should 
be  done  boldly  with  long  Hues,  endeavoring  to  give  an  even 
surface,  without  at  first  going  too  much  into  the  modehng. 
The  shadows  should  be  carefully  kept,  only  going  over  the  too 
transparent  spots  which  are  reproduced  from  the  small  nega- 
tive. In  an  enlargement  from  a  small  photograph,  the  texture 
coming  from  the  original  must  be  eliminated  by  means  of  the 
pencil  or  the  brush.  Some  touches  largely  done  with  a  big 
pencil  will  draw  some  lights  in  the  hair,  the  outline  of  the 
eyes  will  be  sharpened,  the  pupil  rounded,  the  lips  accented — 
in  fine,  the  lights  will  be  put  in ;  but  in  this  case  it  will  be  - 
better  not  to  work  in  the  same  way  for  these  large  negatives 
as  it  is  usually  done  for  the  small  ones.  It  would  take  a  very 
long  time  to  produce  the  necessary  effect  by  means  of  the  pen- 
cil alone.  The  best  way  will  be  as  follows :  Take  a  sheet  of 
very  fine  tracing  paper,  or  papier  mineral,  damp  it  with  a 
sponge,  and  having  run  a  line  of  gum  round  the  back  of  the 


ENLARGEMENTS. 


23 


negative,  stick  the  paper  to  it  and  let  it  dry.  When  dry,  the 
paper  should  be  perfectly  flat  and  smooth,  and  will  give  an 
excellent  surface  for  touching  on.  Proceed  to  touch  as  on 
ordinary  negatives,  with  the  stump  and  black-lead  powder, 
softening  down  the  hard  shadows,  taking  care  always  to  keep 
the  half  tones.  This  can  all  be  done  in  a  few  minutes  by  a 
practiced  retoucher,  and  as  it  is  not  difficult  to  do,  only  requires 
a  little  habit  and  taste. 

The  lighting  of  drapery  is  done  in  the  same  way,  the  lines 
of  the  folds  strengthened,  always  keeping  a  gradation  of  tones. 
The  shadows  should  be  left  as  much  as  possible  alone,  as  very 
little  retouching  is  necessary  on  them.  When  the  negative  is 
transparent,  and  not  much  intensified,  the  tracing  paper  alone 
softens  it  very  much.  It  will  be  seen  that  1  here  recommend 
what  for  small  negatives  I  advised  should  not  be  done.  The 
greatest  pains  should  be  taken  to  get  small  negatives  that 
require  as  little  touching  as  possible,  because  work  that  is  done 
on  the  back  of  the  glass  gives  to  small  prints  a  soft  and  mealy 
appearance,  which  is  very  unpleasant.  But  when  we  come  to 
enlargements,  however  good  the  negative  is,  there  are  always 
portions  of  it  that  require  some  touching — either  lights  that 
are  not  light  enough,  or  shadows  that  are  too  hard,  according 
to  the  value  of  the  original.  It  is,  therefore,  much  better  to 
have  to  correct  parts  that  are  too  transparent,  rather  than  those 
which  are  too  opaque,  and  the  thickness  of  the  glass  is  not 
appreciable  in  large  negatives,  and  touching  can  be  done  on 
both  sides  of  the  glass  without  any  loss  of  sharpness  and  vigor 
being  apparent  in  the  print. 

The  Hance  ground-glass  varnish  may  be  used  instead  of 
tissue  paper,  especially  if  the  glass  on  which  the  negative  is 
taken  is  not  quite  flat,  and  worked  on  in  the  same  way  with  a 
stump.  The  effect  may  be  judged  of  by  looking  through  the 
negative  with  the  collodion  side  toward  the  eye. 

Both  sides  may  be  varnished,  if  required,  with  Hance's  var- 
nish, as  the  touching  is  more  easily  done  on  this  ground  sur- 
face, and  a  greater  softness  is  produced. 


24 


THE  MODERN  PRACTICE  OF  RETOUCHIJSrG, 


These  metliods  will  be  found  successful,  provided  the 
negative  is  thin.  Its  density  should  determine  which  plan 
is  to  be  followed — in  fact,  it  is  a  good  way  to  decide  beforehand 
that  the  negative  shall  only  give  the  dark  shadows  and  half 
tones ;  that  the  varnish  or  tissue  paper  shall  give  the  whites ; 
that  the  stump  or  pencil  shall  give  the  highest  lights.  The 
result  will  thus  be  obtained  in  a  far  simpler  and  better  way. 

But  where  there  are  large,  hard  negatives,  neither  of  these 
methods  is  feasible.  They  must  be  treated  as  I  have  recom- 
mended that  hard  negatives  should  be.  The  whole  of  the 
print  will  not  be  so  harmonious,  though  obtained  with  greater 
difficulty;  for  I  repeat  that  retouching  done  as  I  have  de- 
scribed, and  on  special  kinds  of  negatives,  offers  no  difficulty, 
and  enables  one  to  get  an  excellent  print  even  from  a  very 
small  and  very  bad  original. 


CHAPTEH  Yin. 

LANDSCAPES. 

In  landscapes,  the  sky  is  very  often  not  light  enough ;  ac- 
cording to  the  moment  when  the  negative  has  been  taken,  the 
detail  of  foliage  or  building  is  somewhat  lost  on  it,  while  a 
more  opaque  sky  would  improve  the  whole  and  give  more  re- 
lief. This  is  what  should  be  done :  After  the  negative  is  var- 
nished and  dry,  go  round  the  edge  of  all  the  picture  part, 
whether  foliage  or  buildings,  with  a  brush  and  yellow  paint, 
(Gamboge),  taking  care  to  keep  all  the  details  without  covering 
any  of  them.  The  yellow  will  be  mixed  with  a  little  gum  and 
glycerine.  When  the  outline  is  drawn,  cover  all  the  rest  with  a 
large  brush.  The  same  thing  should  be  done  also  on  the  back, 
so  as  to  remedy  any  inequality  in  the  color  if  it  has  been  put  on 
too  thin.  Besides,  I  advise  not  to  put  it  on  too  thick,  for  fear 
of  its  splitting  up,  and  carrying  away  the  collodion  fihn  with  it. 
The  following  formula  is  also  very  good : 

Spirits  of  turpentine,  -           1,000  parts. 

Bitumen  of  Judea,  -          -        100  ^' 

Wax,           -          -  -               40  " 

Black,    -          -  -          -  20 

Ordinary  asphaltum  varnish,  rubbed  well  with  finely  leviga- 
ted lamp  black,  and  thinned  mth  spirits  of  turpentine,  will  do 
equally  well. 

Brushes  used  for  this  work  should  be  kept  in  a  bottle 
containing  a  little  turpentine.  The  bottle  of  varnish  must 
\e  well  corked  to  prevent  evaporation. 


26 


THE  MODERN  PRACTICE  OF  RETOUCHING. 


A  print  taken  from  a  negative  treated  in  this  manner  will 
have  a  perfectly  white  sky,  which  will  have  a  hard  and  dis- 
agreeable effect ;  it  must  be  tinted  afterward  in  printing,  tak- 
ing care  to  keep  the  horizon  line  lighter  than  the  rest ;  or  even 
some  clouds  may  be  printed  in  from  another  negative ;  the 
print  will  be  softer  and  the  effect  more  artistic*  It  is  also 
possible  to  get  clouds  without  any  double  printing  by  putting 
tissue  paper  on  the  back  of  the  negative,  and  drawing  some 
clouds  on  it.  Some  transparent  parts  should  be  left  to  give 
effect.  Where  touches  have  been  put  on  too  dark,  they  are 
easily  removed  by  rubbing  with  a  little  crumb  of  bread.  This 
does  not  require  very  fine  work ;  the  thickness  of  the  glass 
will  soften  down  what  may  appear  too  coarse.  By  following 
this  method  there  is  no  risk  of  spoiling  the  outlines,  and,  what 
is  of  great  importance  in  winter,  the  printing  does  not  take  so 
long.  Indian  ink  may  be  used  instead  of  the  stump,  as  well 
as  benzole  varnish  instead  of  tissue  paper. 

In  landscape  negatives,  as  well  as  in  other  negatives,  all 
hard  shadows  should  be  softened,  and  the  lights  strengthened ; 
but  all  the  work  should  be  done  on  the  back  of  the  glass.  In 
foliage  negatives,  taken  with  a  bright  sun,  the  nearest  trees  are 
often  wanting  in  detail,  while  the  more  distant  ones  are  quite 
sharp.  Prints  from  these  negatives  have  an  unpleasant  effect, 
the  different  lines  of  distances  being  too  distinctly  marked ; 
this  may  be  improved  by  touching  with  a  brush,  not  too 
pointed,  and  Indian  ink  or  blue,  representing  some  leaves  ac- 
cording to  the  lights  which  are  already  indicated.  It  is  im- 
possible to  distinguish  the  trees  retouched  in  that  way  from 
the  others  finally  obtained  on  the  negative. 

Finally,  if  there  are  any  strong  lights  to  be  put  on  nega- 
tives for  obtaining  effects  of  snow,  it  is  best  done  on  the  back 
of  the  negative,  either  on  tissue  paper  or  white  varnish. 

The  same  thing  may  be  done  in  negatives  of  clouds  which 
are  sharply  lighted  by  sunlight.  If  the  shadows  are  too  trans- 
parent, and  the  lights  too  hard,  put  in  some  half  tones,  and 

*  Printing-in  Clouds,  by  Karl  Klauser,  page  71,  American  Annual  of 
Photography  for  1887,  Scovill  Manufacturing  Co.,  Publishers. 


LANDSCAPES. 


27 


remove  the  varnish  from  the  lights.  If,  on  the  contrary,  the 
light  parts  are  weak,  strengthen  them  either  with  a  stump  or 
brush,  and  remove  the  varnish  from  the  shadows.  For  posi- 
tives and  enlargements  the  same  work  has  to  be  done,  and 
always  in  the  same  way. 

It  will  be  seen,  then,  that  in  the  art  of  retouching  negatives 
it  is  only  in  the  first  step  that  any  difficulty  is  to  be  met  with, 
because,  being  the  most  important,  all  the  rest  follows  from 
it,  and  is,  so  to  speak,  only  the  same  thing  differently  applied. 
Therefore,  with  the  knowledge  of  these  few  various  methods, 
and  a  little  taste  and  use,  one  may  always  be  certain  of  get- 
ting good  results. 


Retouching  Gelatine  Negatives. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

PREPARING  THE  GELATINE  NEGATIVE  FOR  RETOUCHING. 

The  first  and  most  important  operation  to  be  carried  out  is 
to  prepare  the  surface  of  the  negative  so  as  to  enable  the  pencil 
to  bite.  There  are  two  methods  of  doing  this,  either  of  which 
may  be  made  use  of.  The  first  is  to  roughen  the  varnish  by  an 
abrasive  powder — finely  powdered  pumice  stone,  such  as  is  to 
be  purchased  at  many  drug  stores,  being  most  preferred. 
It  is  important  that  the  right  material  be  purchased,  there 
being  a  coarser  and  rougher  kind  made  for  the  use  of  cabinet- 
makers, which  is  quite  unsuitable  and  would  scratch  the  nega- 
tive. It  is  employed  by  putting  a  pinch,  or  dusting  a  small 
quantity  out  of  a  muslin  bag  upon  the  place  to  be  worked 
upon,  and  then  rubbing  it  with  the  end  of  the  finger  with  a 
circular  motion  till  the  surface  is  deadened,  and  a  tooth-like 
fine  ground  glass  is  given.  The  entire  absence  of  gritty  par- 
ticles must  be  insured  or  minute  scratches  which  would  ruin  a 
face  would  be  the  result.  This  method  enables  the  greatest 
amount  of  opacity  to  be  produced  by  the  lead  laid  on,  and 
hence  is  best  for  those  negatives  where  large  masses  of  bare 
glass  have  to  be  covered. 

The  second  method  to  be  described  may  be  used  in  the  ma- 
jority of  cases,  and  the  abrasive  method  only  occasionly,  or 
the  latter  may  be  made  use  of  entirely.  We  recommend  the 
second  method,  with  the  very  occasional  employment  of  the 
other.  The  formula  for  the  composition  to  be  used  is  gum 
dammar,  20  grains ;  Venice  turpentine,  5  grains ;  turpentine, 
1  ounce.  The  gum  is  to  be  powdered  and  the  mixture  well 
agitated  for  a  few  minutes ;  it  will  then  dissolve  quickly,  and 
the  Yenice  turpentine  will  easily  liquefy  and  mix  with  a  little 


PREPARING  THE  NEGATIVE  FOR  RETOUCHING.  29 

shaking.  If  any  difficulty  is  experienced  in  getting  true  Venice 
turpentine  it  may  be  replaced  by  one-half  of  its  weight  of  or- 
dinary black  resin.  A  drop  of  the  solution  is  placed  upon  a 
small  pledget  of  cotton  wool,  and  rubbed  for  a  moment  over 
the  surface  to  be  worked  upon  so  as  to  leave  a  mere  visible 
trace  behind  (if  too  much  be  put  on  the  surface  will  be  too 
sticky  or  tacky).  The  negative  is  placed  aside  for  a  few  min- 
utes and  is  then  ready  for  use,  and  a  number  of  negatives  may 
be  done  one  after  another  so  as  to  save  time.  A  score  of  them 
may  be  treated  in  a  couple  of  minutes,  while  with  the  pumice 
stone  process  each  negative  occupies  perhaps  half  a  minute  or 
more — a  length  of  time  which,  when  many  require  to  be  treated, 
becomes  a  serious  item. 

The  S.  P.  C.  Ketouching  Fluid,  especially  prepared  for  gela- 
tine work,  finds  here  its  most  useful  application.  Most  re- 
touchers use  it  upon  the  unvarnished  negative.  If  after 
retouching  a  proof  be  taken,  and  additional  retouching  is 
found  to  be  necessary,  the  negative  after  being  varnished  and 
prepared  with  the  fluid,  can  again  be  retouched. 

An  important  point  to  be  considered  with  regard  to  this 
treatment  is :  Does  it  injure  the  negative  or  render  it  Hable  to 
crack  ?  The  infinitesimally  small  quantity  of  gum  left  behind 
after  the  rubbing  is  not  likely  to  harm  any  varnished  surface, 
but  to  render  the  matter  entirely  free  from  doubt  we  have 
made  inquiries  among  professional  photographers  who  have 
employed  the  plan,  and  we  have  ascertained  that,  at  any  rate 
in  five  years,  which  was  the  oldest  ease  we  could  trace,  no 
harm  whatever  had  occurred  to  the  negative.  Hence  we  may 
safely  subject  the  most  valuable  negative  to  the  process  without 
any  fear  of  danger. 

Some  retouchers  make  a  special  varnish  which  requires  no 
after  treatment  to  enable  the  pencil  to  bite,  but  our  experience 
of  such  is  not  favorable.  We  do  not  consider  them  likely  to 
be  so  durable  as  other  well-known,  recognized  negative  var- 
nishes, and  the  saving  of  time  is  so  very  slight  that  it  does  not 
counterbalance  the  inconvenience  of  having  two  kinds  in  use — 
one  for  negatives  to  be  retouched  and  one  for  ordinary  work — 


30 


THE  MODEKN  PRACTICE  OF  KETOUOHING. 


and  they  possess  no  otlier  advantage  over  tlie  methods  we 
recommend. 

We  know  one  gentleman  who  possesses  a  touch  so  fine  that 
he  is  able  to  retouch  upon  the  dried  fihn  of  an  unvarnished 
negative,  and  >v^e  have  seen  one  of  a  group  where  a  large  num- 
ber of  faces  were  so  retouched  by  him ;  but  this  is  a  mere  tour 
de  force,  not  to  be  attempted  in  ordinary  practice,  and  only 
made  use  of  by  the  artist  in  question  under  unusual  circum- 
stances. 

We  conclude  this  part  of  the  subject  by  describing  a  method 
suitable  for  occasional  employment  by  any  one  who  wishes  to 
improve  a  negative  and  has  no  special  materials  at  hand.  It  is 
simply  to  dilute  ordinary  negative  varnish  with  about  an  equal 
part  of  alcohol,  pour  on  the  negative  cold,  and  allow  to  dry 
spontaneously.  If  the  right  proportion  of  alcohol  be  employed 
a  surface  of  the  most  exquisite  delicacy  is  obtained,  but  of 
rather  too  fragile  a  nature  for  ordinary  workers.  It  possesses 
the  advantage  of  being  able  to  withstand  a  second  coat  of  var- 
nish applied  with  heat  in  the  ordinary  manner,  and  thus  secures 
the  retouching  from  all  danger,  with  even  the  utmost  amount 
of  hard  printing.  On  this  latter  account  it  may,  at  times,  be 
of  great  usefulness,  the  other  methods  not  allowing  of  any  fix- 
ing of  the  pencil  beyond  that  of  mere  surface  nature,  and  for 
this  reason  we  may  give  a  little  more  fullness  of  details,  the 
gentleman  who  communicated  them  to  us  informing  us  that 
he  employed  this  method  for  one  or  two  years,  and  liked  the 
surface  better  than  any  he  had  ever  worked  upon  previously. 

The  great  point  is  to  have  the  varnish  diluted  to  the  exact 
strength,  and  this  can  only  be  found  by  experiment.  If  too 
strong  the  varnish  dries  too  bright ;  if  too  weak  it  leaves  a 
dead  and  rotten  surface,  easily  scratched,  and  taking  too  great 
a  hold  of  the  black  lead.  Further,  when  a  negative  is  under- 
exposed or  forced  in  the  development,  the  film  has  a  differ- 
ent texture  and  requires  a  modification  of  the  varnish,  greater 
strength  being  then  needed.  Instead  of  thickening  the  var- 
nish, a  second  coating — always  cold — will  almost,  but  not 
C[uite,  answer  as  well. 


PREPARING  THE  NEGATIVE  FOR  RETOUCHING. 


31 


The  drawbacks  to  this  process  are  the  nicety  required  in  ad- 
justing the  strength  of  the  varnish  and  the  great  tenderness, 
even  at  its  best,  of  the  surface,  which  should  be  exactly  analo- 
gous to  the  gloss  of  an  egg-shell,  and  is  most  beautiful  to  work 
upon  but  for  one  defect,  a  special  pencil  being  necessary. 

Keeping  to  the  mechanical  aspect  of  the  subject,  we  may 
now  describe  the  pencils  to  be  used — the  greater  desideratum 
being  one  with  a  tough  texture,  and  capable  of  taking  a  fine, 
hard  point.  Such  a  one  is  the  best  octagonal  black-lead  pen- 
cils of  Faber,  which  in  contrast  with  many  are,  as  a  retoucher 
once  observed  to  us,  "  almost  capable  of  doing  the  retouching 
themselves." 

It  is  desirable  to  have  three  or  four  different  degrees  of 
hardness  of  pencil  so  as  to  suit  every  class  of  work,  the  HH, 
H,  F  and  HB  being  the  most  suitable.  The  H  is  for  general 
work  ;  the  HH  (the  hardest  of  the  four)  for  very  fine  and 
delicate  execution  and  where  little  labor  is  required.  The  F 
and  HB  are  suitable  for  heavier  penciling  when  the  shad- 
ows are  heavy  and  considerable  opacity  is  needed.  It  is  cus- 
tomary to  point  them  in  a  manner  quite  different  from 
what  one  is  usually  accustomed  to.  The  lead  is  laid  bare  to 
the  extent  of  almost  an  inch  and  a  more  or  less  fine  point 
given  to  it,  according  to  the  negative  under  treatment. 

When  extremely  fine  work  is  to  be  executed,  the  American 
retouchers  give  preference  to  metallic  pencils,  a  very  soft 
composition  of  several  metals,  but  still  harder  than  the  hardest 
graphite,  allowing  the  most  delicate  work  to  be  done. 

These  pencils  are  fashioned  into  sharp  points  by  rubbing 
them  over  flour  of  emery  or  crocus  paper. 


CHAPTER  X. 


THE   EASEL   AND  LIGHTING. 

Having  now  arrived  at  our  surface  for  penciling  upon  and 
our  pencils  for  working  with,  it  is  time  to  describe  the  stand 
for  holding  the  negative,  usually  called  a  "retouching  easel." 
All  that  is  needed  is  a  sloping  board  with  a  central  aperture, 
and  sustained  at  a  proper  angle  by  a  leg  or  strut.  From  this 
as  a  beginning,  are  built,  with  greater  or  less  convenience  and 
variety  of  adjustments,  all  the  more  expensive  and  elaborate 
stands.  Some  contrivance  is  required  to  keep  negatives  of 
various  sizes  in  their  places,  which  is  often  done  by  a  series  of 
frames  fitting  one  into  the  other.  The  simplest  and,  we  think, 
the  best  arrangement  of  the  kind  we  are  acquainted  with  is 
formed  by  means  of  a  slight  bar  placed  across  the  whole  width 
of  the  stand,  with  grooved  side  pieces  attached  to  clip  the 
stand  and  retain  the  bar  in  its  place.  The  bar  is  thus  movable 
upwards  and  downwards,  and  clamped  by  the  simple  act  of 
drawing  one  end  a  little  downwards,  and  so  tightening  its  hold 
upon  the  stand  by  means  of  the  groove.  It  is  also  necessary  to 
prevent  the  negative  from  receiving  any  light  upon  its  upper 
(the  prepared)  surface,  and  this  may  be  done  by  suspending  a 
piece  of  black  velvet,  or  even  brown  paper,  over  a  wire  or 
other  support  fastened  to  the  stand.  It  will  be  found  much 
better  not  to  make  this  easel  too  diminutive,  as  it  is  apt  to 
cramp  the  hands  if  sufficient  room  be  not  allowed. 

The  light  is  to  be  thrown  upon  the  negative  from  below,  and 
upon  its  due  modulation  depends  much  of  the  success  with 
which  the  negative  may  be  finished.  There  is  much  discrep- 
ancy of  opinion  among  retouchers  as  to  the  kind  of  light  to  be 
employed,  some  preferring  artificial,  and  others  not  caring  to 


THE  EASEL  AND  LIGHTING. 


33 


work  at  all  if  they  cannot  have  daylight.  Yery  possibly  the 
preference  for  artificial  light  may  be  due  to  the  fact  that  so 
many  photographers  find  it  easier  to  work  at  their  negatives 
when  their  day's  work  of  negative  producing,  etc.,  is  over,  and 
they  can  keep  to  their  pencil  without  interference,  there  being 
nothing  so  conducive  to  bad  and  uneven  work  as  frequent  in- 
terruption. When  daylight  is  to  be  used,  the  easel  must  be 
placed  in  front  of  a  window  commanding  a  view  of  the  sky, 
and  under  the  aperture  should  be  placed  a  small  mirror,  so  ar- 
ranged by  means  of  a  little  packing  that  the  retoucher,  looking 
through  the  aperture,  can  see  reflected  in  the  mirror  the  sky 
in  front  of  him. 

For  some  negatives  it  is  sufiicient  to  place  a  piece  of  white 
paper  in  place  of  the  mirror,  while  most  others  will  require  a 
piece  of  obscured  glass,  placed  either  between  the  mirror  and 
the  sky  or  between  the  negative  and  the  mirror,  as  may  be 
found  most  convenient — taking  care,  if  the  latter  method  be 
adopted,  not  to  place  the  glass  too  close  behind  the  negative 
or  the  grained  surface  will  interfere  with  nicety  of  touch. 

Those  who  employ  artificial  light  generally  prefer  to  have  a 
slight  blue  tinge  imparted  to  it  to  soften  the  heating  and  irri- 
tating effect  which  accompanies  the  flame  of  gas,  etc.  An  or- 
dinary kerosene  lamp  is  preferred  by  many,  but  we  find  a  good 
fishtail  gas  burner,  fastened  to  a  small  stand,  to  be  much  more 
handy,  and  equally  useful — the  former,  of  course,  being  pre- 
ferred by  those  who  have  not  gas  connections  at  hand.  The 
blue  tinge  may  be  produced  by  procuring  an  ordinary  plain 
bedroom  water-bottle  and  filling  it  with  water,  and  throwing 
into  it  a  brushful  of  indigo  color.  This,  placed  in  front  of  the 
light,  softens  and  cools  it  in  a  most  pleasant  manner. 


CHAPTEE  XI. 


RETOUCHING  DETAILS. 

The  negative  .being  placed  on  the  frame,  as  described,  the 
light  should  be  regulated  according  to  its  density — the  greater 
the  density  of  the  negative  the  stronger  the  light  required — 
taking  care  always  to  use  the  lowest  degree  of  illumination  con- 
sistent with  the  complete  visibility  of  all  detail  and  half  tone 
If  too  strong  a  light  be  used,  the  retouching  will  show  more 
forcibly  than  appears  in  the  negative,  and  would  ruin  its 
delicacy.  The  aperture  in  the  retouching  easel  should  not  be 
too  large,  or  there  will  be  a  flood  of  Hght  running  into  the  eyes 
that  will  not  only  dazzle  and  tire  them,  but  render  the  lighter 
and  more  delicate  tones  invisible.  The  plan  we  adopt  is  to 
have  a  sufficiently  large  aperture  to  see  the  greater  part  of  a 
carte  negative,  for  instance,  and  to  diminish  it  while  working 
by  placing  on  the  negative  a  piece  of  black  card-board  in  which 
a  hole  about  an  inch  in  diameter  has  been  cut  out.  The  pencil 
is  to  be  pointed  in  the  manner  described,  the  final  "  sharp- 
ening" being  best  given  by  a  piece  of  emery  paper  or  cloth 
not  too  fine,  a  little  ^  care  being  necessary  to  avoid  breaking  the 
long  and  fine  point.  The  easiest  and  surest  mode  is  to  work 
the  point  by  repeated  strokes  away  from  the  body,  and  not  to 
rub  it  sideways  or  backward  and  forward.  This  hint  will  be 
found  very  useful,  as  the  breaking  of  half  an  inch  of  point  is 
very  irritating.  We  have  not  had  much  experience  with 
"ever-pointed"  leads,  our  preference  being  for  the  ordinary 
make  of  black-lead. 

Our  mode  of  practice  is  to  take  out  of  faces  all  freckles  and 
marks,  blotches  of  unequal  color,  etc.,  first,  and  then  very  care- 
fully to  make  the  smallest  possible  amount  of  alteration  in 
what  is  usually  termed  the  "  modehng " — that  is,  softening 


RETOUCHING  DETAIL-S. 


35 


Yeiy  heavy  shadows  and  increasing  the  prominence  of  some  of 
the  leading  lights.  This  is  done  by  delicate  "  dabs  "  or  dots, 
so  to  speak,  with  the  point  of  the  pencil,  which  must  be  made 
of  the  right  intensity  at  once,  as  the  depth  cannot  be  increased 
by  successive  washes  of  color,  as  in  painting,  though  if  the  re- 
touching be  done  in  very  fine  dotting  or  stipphng,  extra  depth 
n::&y  be  got  by  carefully  filling  in  between  the  first  pencilings. 

The  terms  stippling"  and  hatching"  as  they  are  often 
employed,  may  be  briefly  described  as  dotting  and  lining  re- 
spectively. When  there  are  transparent  parts  requiring  a  con- 
siderable amount  of  intensity  given  to  them  it  will  be  found 
next  to  impossible  to  do  it  at  once,  and  then  the  only  plan  is  to 
make  the  first  retouching  upon  the  Toughened  varnish  as  deep 
as  possible,  to  soften  by  the  aid  of  alcohol  vapor,  and  then  to 
heat  strongly.  This  will  fasten  the  retouching  and  allow 
another  coat  of  varnish,  quickly  applied,  to  be  given.  After 
the  spots  are  all  taken  out  by  stippling,  the  modeling  may  be 
done  by  hatching,  making  small  lines  only,  as  regular  in  size 
and  distance  apart  as  possible,  and  as  much  as  can  be  done 
causing  them  to  follow  the  lines  or  contours  of  the  features,  or 
those  particular  facial  developments  that  are  being  worked 


upon.  It  is  important  that  the  hatching  should  be  done  in  a 
regular  manner,  or  a  very  scratchy  and  uneven  effect  will  be 
produced.  Great  care  must  be  taken  to  avoid  crossing  the 
lines,  or  making  two  strokes  touching  one  another,  this  being 


36 


THE  MODERN  PRACTICE  OF  RETOUCHING. 


a  fertile  source  of  "  lumpy  - '  or  "  scratchy  "  work,  as  it  is  forci- 
bly called. 

It  will  be  found  of  great  use,  if  not  an  actual  necessity,  to 
have  a  magnifier  for  especially  delicate  work — not  to  be  made 
use  of  from  beginning  to  end,  but  merely  for  particular  por- 
tions of  tlie  work,  and  to  aid  a  general  scanning  of  the  whole 
when  completed,  so  as  to  pick  out  any  unevenness  or  rough- 
ness. 

If  used  all  through  it  causes  tne  work,  strange  as  it  may 
appear,  to  be  less  real  and  flesh-like,  and,  we  may  almost  say, 
less  delicate.  The  glass  should  be  of  good  width,  so  that  both 
eyes  can  be  used,  and  it  is  better  if  it  can  be  affixed  to  a  per- 
manent support  which  will  holi  it  at  one  distance  from  the 
negative;  and  this  will  matarlilly  lessen  the  fatigue  of  the 
eyes  in  using  it. 

The  hatching  may  be  suitably  begun  at  the  forehead  and 
finished  at  the  lower  part  of  the  face,  working  from  the  high- 
est lights  to  the  shadows,  and  not  vice  versa.  We  do  not  in- 
tend to  enter  into  a  description  of  the  anatomical  development 
of  the  face,  but,  instead,  we  say,  go  to  nature.  Every  face  will 
impart  hints  as  to  the  leading  lights  and  shadows  under  vary 
ing  modes  of  illumination.  A  gentleman  who  was  one  of  the 
earliest  of  retouchers  in  this  country  used  to  make  a  point  of 
scrutinizing  his  own  face  in  the  mirror,  observing  the  disposi- 
tion of  high  lights  and  shadows  under  every  possible  variety 
of  illumination,  and  he  recommends  the  method  still  as  being 
better  than  all  the  books  in  the  world.  To  the  younger  mem- 
bers of  the  profession  we,  apart  from  its  entire  desirability 
from  other  points  of  view,  strongly  recommend  a  study  of 
drawing ;  the  benefit  would  be  great  in  many  ways. 

We  conclude  by  pointing  out  some  alterations  which  may 
be  made  or  avoided  with  advantage.  One  of  the  commonest 
faults  of  a  photograph  is  the  stern  or  "  cross"  expression  so 
frequently  seen,  which  is  caused  by  a  too  strong  light,  or  it  is 
the  natural  expression  of  a  face  at  rest.  One  of  the  chief 
seats  of  this  expression  is  between  the  eyebrows.  It  is  not 
caused  by  the  perpendicular  line  or  lines,  more  or  less  pro- 


RETOUCHING  DETAILS. 


37 


nounced,  always  seen  there  in  persons  somewhat  advanced  in 
life,  but  is  produced  by  the  contraction  of  the  eyebrow,  which 
at  the  end  nearest  the  nose  will  be  found,  when  under  this  ex- 
pression, to  liave  taken  an  angular  form,  and  produced  a  de- 
cidedly darker  shadow  underneath  in  the  orbit.  If  the  corner 
of  this  angle  be  taken  off,  and  the  heavy,  dark  shadow  be 
slightly  lessened,  the  effect  at  times  is  almost  magical ;  and  yet 
any  one  can  see,  by  looking  at  a  retouched  negative,  that  very 
few  retouchers  are  aware  of  this  simple  expedient,  it  being 
generally  thought  that  the  upright  furrow^s  cause  the  frown. 

It  is  generally  advised  to  heighten  the  toning  of  the  eyelids. 
"We  can  only  say,  except  to  such  experienced  artists  as  need  no 
advice  from  us,  "  do  not  touch  them,"  for  in  ninety-nine  cases 
out  of  a  hundred  the  face  gets  spoiled  by  such  work.  That 
portion  of  the  cheek  nearest  the  nose  should  be  most  carefully 
and  thoughtfully  done  ;  there  is  often  a  delicate  shadow  which 
is  liable  to  be  taken  out  by  the  unskilled  retoucher  with  the 
effect  of  producing  a  swelled  cheek.  The  line  pften  found 
running  down  from  the  wings  of  the  nostrils  should  be  care- 
fully lightened  with  the  aid  of  the  knowledge  which  would  be 
obtained  by  a  slight  study  of  the  artist's  own  face  in  a  mirror. 
The  difference  between  a  smile  and  a  sneer  is  caused  by  an 
almost  imperceptible  difference  in  the  shading  of  this  furrow 
that  cannot  be  conveyed  in  words. 

Finally,  there  is  the  corner  of  the  mouth,  where  much  may 
often  be  done  if  it  be  borne  in  mind  that  in  a  smile  the  cor- 
ner of  the  lip  is  slightly  turned  up,  and  with  a  serious,  grave 
or  crying  expression  it  takes  an  opposite  direction.  The  hands 
may  often  be  improved  by  taking  out  the  swollen  veins  they 
frequently  present  in  the  photograph,  though  it  often  happens 
that  this  can  only  be  done  on  each  individual  print. 

We  believe  our  instructions,  if  attended  to,  will  be  found 
to  present  nearly  all  that  is  necessary  to  learn — beyond  what 
experience  alone  will  teach — to  enable  any  person  to  become 
a  proficient  retoucher. 


CHAPTEK  XII, 


HINTS  FROM  THE  GERMAN  METHODS  OF  RETOUCHING. 

The  late  Johannes  Grasshoff,  in  an  elaborate  work  on  E-e- 
touching,  devoted  mainly  to  the  aesthetic  side,  has  also  described 
its  technical  qualities.  A  few  points,  which  he  therein  makes, 
may  not  be  uninstructive  to  the  general  readers  of  this  little 
book. 

Most  of  the  German  photographers,  to  the  present  day,  re- 
sort to  "  retouching  the  original,"  that  is,  to  rendering  certain 
parts  of  face,  arms  or  hands  more  impressible  for  photo- 
graphic surfaces  than  they  are  ordinarily  found  to  be.  Pow- 
dering red  hair  and  beard,  darkening  very  light  blond  eye- 
brows or  mustaches,  retouching  birth-marks,  scars  or  other 
defects  with  stump  or  brush,  belong  to  this  class  of  work. 

Retouching  the  negative  is  generally  done  upon  unvarnished 
films,  prepared  with  a  medium  similar  to  the  S.  P.  C.  retouch- 
ing fluid  ;  and  if  a  second  retouching  after  varnishing  is  de- 
sired, great  attention  must  be  paid  to  a  proper  composition  of 
the  varnish.  Seed  lac  dissolved  in  alcohol,  with  due  propor- 
tions of  sandarac  and  Venetian  turpentine,  being  used  by  many 
with  good  success ;  but  Flandreau's  S.  P.  C.  retouching  fluid 
is  unsurpassed  as  yet. 

When  retouching  is  done  on  unvarnished  negatives,  the  film 
must  be  absolutely  dry,  or  the  pencil  will  refuse  to  work  evenly, 
and  will  therefore  make  gritty  marks.  The  parts  of  the  nega- 
tive to  be  retouched  upon  should  not  be  exposed  to  moisture  ; 
even  breathing  and  handling  with  greasy  fingers  must  be  abso- 
lutely avoided. 

Very  dry  varnish  is  naturally  hard,  and  according  to  the 
state  of  the  varnish  the  grade  of  pencil  must  be  chosen.  The 
Siberian  lead  is  principally  used,  although  the  American 
method  of  retouching  with  metallic  points  is  becoming  popular. 


GERMAN    METHODS  OF  RETOUCHING. 


89 


When  excessive  densities  are  wanted,  which  are  not  procura- 
ble with  the  pencil,  brush  and  India  ink  are  resorted  to  in  many 
cases,  although  neutral  tint  mixed  with  Yan  Dyke  brown,  re- 
sembling the  color  of  the  negative  deposit,  is  more  generally 
used.  Blue  allows  too  much  light  to  pass,  yellow  and  red  are 
too  non-actinic  for  negative  work,  although  carmine  is  used  oc- 
casionally to  cover  large  surfaces,  to  make  them  less  actinic. 

Large  heads  are  retouched  on  the  glass  side  of  the  negative, 
by  means  of  stump  and  powdered  graphite. 

An  important  part  of  retouching  in  Germany  is  considered 
the  reduction  of  undue  density ;  that  is,  the  softening  of  single 
parts  of  negatives  when  too  much  developed  for  harmonious 
effects.  A  fine  linen  rag,  moistened  with  alcohol,  is  steadily 
rubbed  over  the  parts  to  be  reduced,  or  if  they  be  very  small, 
a  pointed  piece  of  flexible  wood  is  used  instead.  With  long- 
continued  friction  the  superfluous  silver  deposit  is  rubbed  off, 
making  the  negative  less  intense,  according  to  the  desire  of  the 
retoucher.  This  method  is  preferable  to  chemical  means,  but 
requires  time,  patience,  and  skill. 

In  landscapes  and  interiors  a  great  deal  of  retouching  is  done  ; 
high  lights  introduced  where  they  are  wanted;  details  carried 
out,  and  general  harmony  established. 

The  Grerman  mode  of  working  does  not  essentially  differ 
from  that  of  other  nationalities,  but  more  attention  is  given 
to  the  retouching  of  landscape  negatives,  perhaps,  and  better 
^  artistic  effects  gained  in  that  country  than  elsewhere. 


APPENDIX. 


RETOUCHING  LARGE  HEADS. 

Photography  has  made  considerable  progress  during  the  last 
few  years.  A  high  sensitiveness  of  plates  and  the  rapid  action 
of  newly-constructed  objectives,  have  contributed  mainly  to  the 
perfection  of  our  technical  work ;  but  these  facilities,  applicable 
to  every  branch  of  photography,  have  been  utilized  by  few 
operators  only  in  the  portrait  line.  Improvements  made  in 
aesthetic  photography  can  be  claimed  merely  by  a  select  class, 
although  efforts  to  do  better  are  generally  manifested.  To  make 
an  artistically  good  photograph,  and  make  it  acceptable  to  a 
critical  or  refined  public,  requires  taste  in  posing  and  good  judg- 
ment in  lighting  the  subject,  not  to  speak  of  the  technical  part  of 
the  work.  Besides  all  the  requirements  for  a  good  photographic 
portrait,  a  certain  amount  of  liand-work  is  absolutely  necessary, 
especially  with  direct  large  heads.  One  of  the  main  tasks  of 
the  retoucher  is  the  preservation  of  the  general  face-character ; 
all  details  should  be  seen  in  the  finished  picture,  without  deep 
and  black  shadows,  and  without,  in  comparison  with  them, 
chalky  lights.  Light  draperies,  and  the  highly  illuminated 
parts  of  the  face,  show  details,  or  gradations  of  tone,  in  a  well- 
developed  negative,  and  must  remain  so.  The  retoucher  must 
improve  the  negative,  where  corrections  are  needed ;  by  no 
means  should  the  pencil  encroach  upon  a  field,  by  which  finally 
the  negative  may  be  rendered  entirely  worthless. 

To  facilitate  the  artistic  work  of  the  retoucher,  the  technist 
should  make  a  very  large  head  upon  a  thin  glass  plate.  If  the 
negative  be  covered  upon  the  reverse — that  is,  the  glass  side — 
with  ground  glass  varnish,  retouching  will  be  much  facilitated. 
Pencils  of  various  grades  are  necessary  to  shade  in  various 
ways,  as  the  negative  will  require ;  often  the  stump  and  finely 


RETOUCHING  LARGE  HEADS.  41 

pulverized  graphite  may  be  resorted  to.  With  them  large 
surfaces  may  be  bleached  off,  and  a  beautiful  harmony  given 
to  the  photograph.  Wrinkles,  deep  lines,  the  pores  of  the 
skin,  and  accidental  faults  may  be  softened,  so  as  not  to  inter- 
fere with  the  general  effect,  to  do  which,  light  and  shade  must 
remain  well  balanced.  The  very  fact  that  large  heads  are 
never  viewed  in  close  proximity  to  the  eye,  allows  the  retoucher 
to  take  certain  artistic  liberties  with  the  subject  before  him. 
Negative  retouching  on  the  film  side  of  the  plate  is  very  apt 
to  smooth  whole  surfaces  of  large  heads,  in  such  a  manner  as 
to  lose  all  details,  giving  nothing  but  well-polished  planes, 
without  any  undulations,  no  matter  how  well  they  were 
rendered  in  the  negative.  ]^[othing  but  a  loss  of  time,  labor, 
and,  possibly,  of  a  good  negative,  can  result  from  poor  re- 
touching. 

The  portrait  painter  obtains  flesh  effects  with  colors,  but 
they  are  not  available  to  photographers,  and  as  our  portraits 
are  rendered  in  nothing  but  black  and  white,  with  intermediate 
gradations  of  tone,  any  possible  faults  of  the  negative,  and 
strong  shadows,  thrown  by  projections,  can  only  be  overcome 
by  the  retoucher's  pencil.  The  positive  on  paper  must  be 
attended  to  with  equal  care.  Mechanical  faults  may  be  taken 
away,  and  high  lights  be  toned  down.  In  no  way  should  the 
positive  retouching  be  coarse  or  hard. 

A  well-posed  and  lighted  large  head,  when  the  plate  is 
technically  well  treated,  may  finally  become  in  reality  a  work 
of  art. 

The  great  efforts  made  in  all  quarters  to  present  photo- 
graphs to  the  public  which,  besides  other  merits,  have  artistic 
value,  make  it  fair  to  suppose  that  every  little  hint  given  to 
accomplish  the  desired  results  will  be  accepted  by  the  diligent 
photographer  as  well  as  the  conscientious  retoucher. — Fritz 
EiLENDER,  in  the  American  Annual  of  Photography  for 
1887. 


\ 


42 


THE  MODERN  PRACTICE  OF  RETOUCHING. 


RETOUCHING  GELATINE  NEGATIVES  WITH  RED  CHALK  AND  BLACK  CRAYON. 

To  COVER  the  strongest  lines  and  spots  of  gelatine  negatives 
superficially,  I  have  of  late  used  black  crayon— Faber's  black 
chalk  points  No.  1  and  'No.  2,  also  the  best  Coute's  crayon 
pencils. 

Grinding  down  the  film  I  have  abandoned  altogether.  I 
merely  roughen  it  by  rubbing  it  with  a  piece  of  calico.  To 
avoid  finger-dirt  or  greasy  matter  being  carried  upon  the  plate, 
which  would  eventually  destroy  the  surface  for  drawing  pur- 
poses, it  is  best  to  enclose  a  tuft  of  cotton  in  the  calico  and 
tie  up  the  ends.  Thus  a  tampon  with  convenient  handle  is 
secured,  well  adapted  to  do  the  work,  without  exposing  the 
surface  of  the  plate  to  finger-marks.  When  by  long-continued 
rubbing,  gelatine  powder  clogs  up  the  fabric,  it  may  be  cleaned 
by  striking  it  over  the  edge  of  the  glass  plate. 

Crayons  should  be  finely  pointed  and  dexterously  handled. 
To  use  them  with  force  is  required  only  when  drawing  in 
strong  details,  high  lights  in  eyes  or  on  jewelry,  for  the  con- 
tours of  laces,  linen,  etc.  The  handles  belonging  to  Faber's 
"  B  "  and  "  C  "  points  are  too  heavy  and  clumsy,  and  allow 
easy  breaking  of  the  pencils.  It  is  far  better  to  wind  a  piece 
of  moistened  albumen  paper  spirally  around  the  pencil,  and 
stick  the  ends  together.  This  furnishes  the  best  handle  I 
know  of. 

All  crayon  retouching  is  usually  rather  coarse,  and  whenever 
it  is  necessary  should  be  blended  down  with  paper  stump  or 
fine  erasing  gum,  just  as  is  done  with  crayon  drawings  upon 
paper. 

When  it  is  desirable  to  lighten  up  large  surfaces  like  the 
dark  side  of  a  face  in  Hembrandt  style,  or  to  brighten  the  shad- 
ows of  a  neck,  I  dip  the  point  of  a  soft  paper  stump  in  crayon 
scrapings  or  black  pastel  color,  lay  the  color  on  the  negative 
lightly,  and  without  using  much  force,  blend  it  carefully  and 
easily  over  all  the  various  places,  and  rub  in  gradually. 

Crayon  powder  intensifies  somewhat  more  than  it  appears  to 
do.    Pastel  black  is  of  much  purer  gray  tone. 

Another  remarkably  good  material  for  the  brightening  up 


APPENDIX. 


43 


of  large  planes  is  extremely  fine  red  crayon  (Rotliel),  which 
possesses  great  intensifying  properties.  I  do  not  use  the  ordi- 
nary kind,  but  that  manufactured  by  La  Franc  &  Co.,  of  Paris. 
Coute's  red  crayons  are  less  appropriate  for  blending,  but  are 
better  for  putting  in  points  and  high  lights,  lied  crayon  can 
not  very  well  be  employed  for  brightening  up  face  shadows, 
as  its  color  will  conflict  with  that  of  the  lead-pencil  afterwards 
used,  but  in  general  landscape  work,  and  in  frequent  cases  in 
portraiture  also,  it  will  be  found  to  be  a  most  useful  material 
to  work  with. 

Naturally  none  will  attempt  to  cover  whole  surfaces  with 
uniform  layers  of  crayon,  especially  upon  under-exposed  plates. 
With  them  only  a  detailing  of  the  shadows  is  required,  or  to 
create  harmony  between  them  and  the  brighter  lights,  while 
with  other  negatives  the  deeper  shadows  may  require  a 
more  thorough  covering.  The  difference  in  the  color  of  the 
material  used  facilitates  judging  of  the  intensity  desired  to  be 
produced. 

Negatives  retouched  with  crayons  or  crayon  powder  require 
a  protecting  varnish.  Red  crayon  adheres,  however,  so  tena- 
ciously to  the  negatives  that  even  de-varnishing  a  retouched 
negative  cannot  remove  it  entirely.  Red  crayons  can  be  used 
for  retouching  upon  varnished  films  as  well,  also  when  pre- 
pared with  the  usual  media,  the  compound  turpentine  retouch- 
ing fluid,  or  its  modern  rival,  castor  oil,  and  particularly  with 
great  advantage  when,  after  varnishing,  a  plate  requires  correc- 
tions, like  the  briglitening  up  of  the  hair  or  beard. 

In  ordinary  practice  graphite  is  used  for  that  purpose. 
But  varnish  never  adheres  well  to  graphite,  and  an  intensity 
like  that  produced  by  red  crayon  can  never  be  obtained  with  it, 
besides  no  additional  drawing  can  be  effected  upon^a  graphited 
ground. 

It  is  preferable  to  varnish  the  negative  after  the  crayon  re- 
touching, the  sketch  for  the  whole  work,  has  been  finished,  and 
then  continue  to  work  in  the  usual  manner.  A  direct  applica- 
tion of  the  retoucliing  fluid  upon  the  unvarnished  film  will 
obliterate  the  crayon  work. — Anton  Baumgartner,  in  the 
American  Afinual  of  PJiotography  for  1888, 


44 


THE  MODERN  PRACTICE  OF  RETOUCHING. 


RETOUCHING  THE  NEGATIVE  BY  CHEMICAL  MEANS. 

Presumably  there  are  but  few  photographers,  professional 
and  amateurs  as  well,  who  are  acquainted  with  the  nature  of 
chemical  retouching;  but  there  are  certainly  a  great  many 
more  who  know  nothing  at  all  about  it,  hardly  the  name  of 
the  method.  Still  it  is  such  an  important  and  efficient  factor 
in  the  making  of  faultless  and  artistically  finished  negatives, 
that  it  must  be  wondered  at  why  so  little  of  it  has  been  men- 
tioned publicly. 

Chemical  retouching  is  far  more  important  to  the  landscape 
photographer  than  to  the  portraitist.  Let  us,  for  instance, 
consider  the  effects  of  a  forest  scenery,  with  broad  and  open 
vista,  then  a  white  building  or  interior  view ;  there  are  in 
frequent  cases  such  enormous  contrasts,  which,  to  harmonize 
and  to  put  the  negative  into  printable  condition,  chemical  re- 
touching must  be  resorted  to. 

To  communicate  to  your  readers  my  experience  in  this  new 
field  might  possibly  be  of  interest  to  many  of  them. 

Chemical  retouching  is  actually  nothing  else  but  a  local  re- 
duction or  intensification  done  with  brush  and  the  requisite 
media.  All  the  solutions  serving  these  purposes  may  be  em- 
ployed here.  Especially  useful  are  the  red  prussiate  of  pot- 
ash or  ferri-cyanide  of  potassium  in  combination  with  a  solu- 
tion of  fixing  soda ;  also  the  green  double  salt  potassio-ferric 
oxalate  with  hypo,  and  chloride  of  iron  in  neutral  solution. 

The  application  of  these  reagents  is  done  in  the  following 
manner : 

Of  either  of  the  first  two  substances  prepare  five  or  six  solu- 
tions of  various  strengths,  ranging  from  half  per  cent,  to  one 
of  perfect  saturation,  and  of  the  hyposulphite  of  soda  one 
of  circa  15  per  cent.  Keep  the  former  in  small  phials  and  the 
hypo  in  suitable  trays.  Several  fine  camel's-hair  brushes  of 
different  sizes  and  widths  are  requisite,  and  also  a  retouching 
desk,  not,  however,  one  with  an  inclination  of  45  degrees,  as 
we  use  in  ordinary  retouching,  but  so  constructed  as  to  lay  the 
negative  upon  it  horizontally,  else  the  liquids  when  applied 
would  run,  preventing  clean  and  accurate  retouching. 


APPENDIX. 


45 


Before  retouching  can  be  connnenced,  the  negative  is  to  be 
laid  in  pnre  water  for  fifteen  minutes,  to  soften  the  gelatine 
film,  and  then  be  removed  for  five  minutes  to  the  hjpo  solution. 
The  plate  taken  up  is  then  well  drained  and  all  still  adhering 
liquid  touched  up  with  clean,  white  bibulous  paper,  or  the  film 
wiped  with  a  clean  linen  or  cotton  cloth,  and  placed  upon  the 
retouching  desk,  the  reflecting  mirror  set  at  such  an  angle  as 
to  give  it  full  illumination. 

The  phials  containing  the  solutions  should  be  kept  at  the 
right  hand,  and  at  the  left  two  large  jars  of  water. 

Two  brushes,  corresponding  in  size  to  the  dimensions  of  the 
surface  to  be  reduced,  are  then  selected,  one  of  them  taken 
with  the  right  hand,  dipped  into  the  reducing  solution,  and 
drawn  over  the  place  uniformly,  but  rapidly,  and  with  pre- 
cision, always  commencing  with  the  weakest  solution.  The 
left  hand  holds  the  second  brush ;  with  it  and  pure  water  the 
outlines  are  washed  once  to  prevent  sharp  lines  of  demarca- 
tion. The  action  of  the  reducer  becomes  perceptible  within 
a  few  seconds.  Too  strong  solutions,  in  the  first  instance, 
should  be  carefully  avoided.  They  may  act  too  forcibly,  caus- 
ing incorrigible  errors,  resulting  in  the  loss  of  the  negative. 

Has  the  reducing  agent  not  acted  sufficiently  after  one 
application,  it  should  either  be  used  repeatedly  or  a  more  con- 
centrated solution  be  taken  instead  of  it,  washing  the  outlines, 
however,  after  each  application,  with  the  water  brush.  It 
requires  but  little  experience  to  reduce,  in  this  manner,  parts 
of  the  negative  with  distinct  outlines,  when  the  water  brush 
can  be  dispensed  with.  To  produce  a  gradation  of  tone  or 
blending  off,  sharp  lines  are  avoided  by  washing  with  the 
water  brush  repeatedly,  cleaning  the  brush  in  pure  water  after 
each  application,  a  second  touching  with  the  reducing  fluid, 
and  further  advancing  into  the  plane  to  be  reduced,  with  care- 
ful washing  the  outlines  with  the  water  brush  after  each  appli- 
cation. This  mode  of  working  may  be  continued  till  the  de- 
sired effect  has  been  nearly  reached.  By  no  means  should 
reducing  be  carried  any  further.  As  the  action  of  the  chemi- 
cal will  continue  for  some  time,  even  after  placing  the  nega- 


46 


THE  MODERN  PRACTICE  OF  RETOUCHING. 


tive  ill  the  water,  washing  the  reduced  part  with  the  brush, 
and  rocking  the  plate  vigorously  in  a  tray  with  pure  water,  is 
absolutely  necessary  to  arrest  its  action. 

If  it  is  required  to  reduce  surfaces  with  sharp  outlines,  all 
adhering  water  must  be  carefully  removed  from  the  plate,  and 
the  brush  moistened  but  sparingly  with  the  solution,  that  is, 
just  enough  to  shape  it  into  a  sharp  point,  with  which  outlines 
can  be  followed  accurately.  When  the  action  of  the  reducer 
becomes  perceptible,  the  plate  must  be  at  once  immersed  in 
water  and  well  brushed.  But  when  the  effect  of  reducing  is 
to  be  a  tone  gradation  or  blending  off,  the  plate,  after  having 
been  soaked  in  water  and  hypo  solution,  is  well  drained,  laid 
upon  the  desk,  and,  by  blowing  sharply  upon  the  place  to  be 
reduced,  all  water  dispelled  from  it,  so  that  it  may  appear 
■Blmost  dry.  Then  apply  the  brush,  moistened  with  potassio- 
ferric  oxalate  solution,  drawing  it  first  over  the  outlines,  and 
blending  with  the  water  brush  afterwards.  The  action  of  this 
solution  gives  more  delicate  effects,  because  it  is  slower  and 
more  controllable  than  the  ferri-cyanide  of  potassium,  de- 
duction becoming  visible,  repeat  touching  with  a  broader  brush 
and  the  same  solution,  advancing  at  the  same  time  more  to- 
wards the  darker  portions,  and  continue  to  do  so,  advancing 
the  brush  towards  the  outlines,  and  tempering  the  effects  pro- 
duced by  means  of  the  water  brush.  Finally,  the  plate  must 
be  washed  for  at  least  four  hours  in  several  changes  of  water, 
or  over  night. 

There  may  be  occasion  to  retouch  very  small,  sharply-defined 
places,  often,  perhaps,  to  brighten  up  solitary  spots  or  lines. 
To  do  so  well  the  plate,  after  being  soaked  as  usual,  must  be 
freed  as  much  as  possible  from  adhering  water,  and  the  part 
to  be  brightened  up  be  touched  with  a  sharply-pointed  brush 
and  concentrated  solution,  to  produce  effect  at  once,  and  with- 
out repetition  of  the  operation. 

AH  the  reducing  solutions  mentioned  give  satisfactory  re- 
sults ;  but,  it  should  be  remembered,  ferri-cyanide  of  potassium 
acts  most  energetically  of  all,  and  very  rapidly,  hence  great 
care  must  be  observed  with  it. 


APPENDIX. 


47 


Much  slower  is  the  action  of  potassio-ferric  oxalate.  Chlo- 
ride of  iron  is  the  slowest  of  all,  and  should  be  employed  only 
in  strong  and  neutral  solutions,  the  plate  be  softened  in  the 
water,  but  not  in  the  second  or  the  hypo  bath. 

With  chloride  of  iron  the  silver  deposit  is  not  dissolved, 
neither  is  it  destroyed.  The  metallic  silver  is  merely  trans- 
formed into  chloride,  a  process  much  accelerated  when  to  the 
neutral  solution,  of  acid  reaction,  a  small  amount  of  hydro- 
chloric acid  is  added.  When  inadvertently  the  reduction  with 
iron  has  gone  further  than  intended,  the  original  intensity  of 
the  negative  can  be  restored  by  re-developing  with  ferrous 
oxalate. 

With  some  negatives,  certain  portions  may  need  reducing, 
and  others  intensification.  In  such  cases,  the  negative  plate, 
after  the  desired  reductions  have  been  accomplished,  must  be 
thoroughly  washed  for  at  least  twelve  hours,  to  remove  from 
it  the  last  traces  of  hyj)o  or  iron,  and,  without  being  washed, 
laid  upon  the  retouching  desk,  the  adhering  water  dispelled 
from  the  parts  to  be  intensified,  by  blowing  a  strong  current 
of  air  upon  it,  and  touching  it  with  a  strong  solution  of  bi- 
chloride of  mercury  and  sodium  chloride,  using  at  the  same 
time  the  water  brush  dextrously,  to  prevent  the  forming  of 
sharp  outhnes.  If  the  mercurialized  place  is  but  very  small, 
holding  it  over  the  neck  of  a  bottle  containing  strong  ammo- 
nia will  blacken  it  speedily.  For  large  surfaces,  sulphite  of 
sodium  may  be  used.  To  keep  within  outlines  it  is  essential 
to  remove  all  water  from  the  plate  and  use  the  bi-chloride  of 
mercury  in  saturated  solution. 

To  retouch  correctly  by  chemical  means,  requires  first  a 
steady  hand,  diligence,  patience,  and  some  experience.  To  be 
too  hasty  results  often  in  the  loss  of  the  negative ;  to  work 
with  caution  and  circumspection  is  essential. 

Beginners  had  better  make  their  experiments  with  negatives 
of  but  little  value,  for  many  of  tliem  may  be  spoiled  before 
experience  is  attained  to  finish  a  plate  to  entire  satisfaction. 
Failures  should,  however,  not  discourage ;  with  diligence  and 


48 


THE  MODERN  PKACTICE  OF  RETOUCHING. 


close  attention  to  the  work,  difficulties  will  soon  be  conquered, 
leading  to  the  production  of  faultless  plates. 

The  advantages  offered  by  chemical  retouching  are  incalcu- 
lable. 

To  mention  the  poisonous  nature  of  ferri-cyanide  of  potas- 
sium, and  particularly  that  of  the  bi-chloride  of  mercury, 
should  not  be  omitted.  The  latter,  when  brought  in  contact 
with  a  cut  or  abrasion  of  the  skin,  may  lead  to  serious  conso- 
quences ;  neither  should  brushes  moistened  with  its  solution 
be  pointed  between  the  lips,  as  artists  are  in  the  habit  of  do- 
ing with  paint  brushes ;  it  is  of  great  danger  to  the  operator. 
— Carl  Schiendl,  in  The  American  Annual  of  Photog- 
raphy for  1889. 


1  N  DEX. 


PAGE. 

Abrading  the  Surface  of  the  Negative,         -          -          -          -  29 

Applying  Cold  Varnish,             -          -          -          -          -  -  29 

Artificial  Light  for  Retouching,        -----  32 

Cloud  Effects  in  Landscapes,      -          -          -          -          -  -     25  ' 

Cold  Varnish  Unsuitable,      ------  10 

Condition  of  Negative,    -          -          -          -          -          -  -  12 

Cross  Expression,  How  to  Cure,      -----  35 

Drapery,  ---------22 

Emery  Powder  in  Retouching,         -----  11 

Hints  from  the  German  Methods  of  Retouching,         -          -  -  38 

Improving  Bad  Negatives,     ------  14 

Landscapes  ;  Improving  the  Skies,        -          -          -          -  -  24 

Lighting  the  Negative,  31 

Magnifying  Glass,  Use  of,          -          -          -          -          -  8,  34 

Modeling.  36 

Obtaining  Effects  of  Snow,         -          -          -          -          -  -  25 

Old  Faded  Photographs,        ------  16 

Pencils  and  Brushes,       -          --          --          --  7 

Positions  for  Producing  Enlarged  Negatives,         -          -          -  19 
Preparing  the  Surface,      -          --  -.-_9 

Removing  Accessories,  17 

Reproducing  Daguerreotypes,     -          -          -          -          -  -  16 

Retouching  Details,    -------  ^3 

Retouching  Enlarged  Negatives,           -          -          -          -  -  21 

Retouching  Frame,     ------          -  7 

Retouching  Gelatine  Negatives  with  Red  Chalk  and  Black  Cra)'On  -  42 

Retouching  Large  Heads,      -          -          -          -          -          -  40  . 

Retouching  the  Negative  by  Chemical  Means            -          -  -  44 

Retouching  Varnishes,          -          -          -          _          -          _  10 

Shadows  Under  the  Eyes,           -          -          -          -       .  -  -  13 

Specks — How  Removed,        ------  12 

Swollen  Veins  on  the  Hand,       -          -          -          -          -  -  36 

Tracing  Paper— Its  Uses,       ------  21 

Uses  of  Dragon's  Blood,            -          -          -         --          -  -  15 

Utility  of  Retouching,  5 

Venice  Turpentine,  Substitute  for,        -          -          -          -  -  28 

Wrinkles,        .          -          -   13 


The  Semi- Centennial !! ! 


HALF  A  HUNDRED  PHOTOGRAYDRES 

In  Series  of 

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tions which  will  embellish  the  Photographic  Times  during  1889. 

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tribute to  this  journal.    Following  are  the  names  of  a  few  : 

H.  McMichael,  President  of  the  P.  A.  of  A. 

Andrew  Prikgle,  F^resident  of  the  Photographic  Convention  of  the  United  Kingdom. 
Ernest  Edwards.  President  of  the  Photo-Gravure  Co. 

Prof.  W.  H.  Pickering,  of  Harvard  University. 
Rev.  W.  H.  Burbank.  John  Carbutt. 

W.  H.  Sherman.  J.  R.  Swain. 

J  M.  Mora.  Prof.  Karl  Klauser. 

C.  W.  Canfield.  Charles  Wager  Hull. 

W.  Jerome  Harrison,  F.G.S.  Dr.  J.  M.  Eder. 

Prot.  W.  K.  Burton.  G.  Watmough  Webster. 


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THE 

American  Annual  of  Photography 


AND 

Photographic  Times  Almanac 


For  1887. 


C.   W.   CANFIELD,  Editor, 


A  STllJDARD  BOOK  OF  REPEREICE. 


It  contains  five  full-page  illustrations  : 

AN  EXQUISITE  PHOTOGRAYURE,  by  Ernest  Edwards. 
A  BROMIDE  PRINT,  by  the  Eastman  Company. 

A  SILYER  PRINT,  by  Gustay  Cramer,  of  St.  Loais. 

TWO  MOSSTYPES,  by  the  Moss  Engraying  Company. 

197  pages  of  Contributed  Matter,  consisting  of  articles  on  various 
subjects,  by  80  representative  Photographic  writers  of  this  country 
and  Europe. 

Also,  in  addition  to  the  contributed  articles  : — Yearly  Calendar.  Eclip- 
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Sunrise  and  Sunset  for  every  day  in  the  year  ;  Moon's  phases  ;  also,  dates 
of  meetings  of  all  American  Photographic  Societies.  A  list  of  American 
and  European  Photographic  Societies.  Photographic  Periodicals,  Ameri- 
can and  European.  Books  relating  to  Photography,  published  1886.  Ap- 
proved Standard  Formulfe  for  all  processes  now  in  general  use.  Tables 
of  Weights  and  Measures.  American  and  Foreign  Money  Values.  Com- 
parisons of  Thermometric  Readings.  Comparisons  of  Barometric  Read- 
ings. Symbols  and  Atomicity  of  the  Chemical  Elements.  Symbols, 
chemical  and  common  names  and  solubilities  of  the  substances  used  in 
Photography.  Tables  for  Enlargements  and  Reductions.  Equations  re- 
lating to  Foci.  Tables  of  Comparative  Exposures.  Freezing  Mixtures. 
Photographic  Patents  issued  1886.  Postage  Rates.  All  Tables,  Formulae, 
etc..  brought  down  to  date  and  especially  prepared  or  revised  for  this  work. 

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ii 


THE 

American  Annual  of  Photography 

AND 

Photographic  Times  Almanac 
For  1888, 

O.  W.  CDJ^^:^:B'i:HZT^rD,  Editor 


It  contains  EIGHT  (8)  full-page  high-grade  Illustrations  ; 
and  over  NINETY  (90)  Original  Contributions,  written  expressly 
for  its  pages,  by  the  most  eminent  Photographic  writers  of  Europe 
and  America. 

TRE  ILLUSTRATIOJSrS  COMPRISE 

A  PHOTO-LITHOGRAPH,  showing  an  improved  new  pro- 
cess, by  the  Photogravure  Company  of  New  York. 

A  PHOTO-COPPERPLATE  ENGRAYING  of  a  Pictorial 
Landscape  Subject,  by  E.  Obernetter,  of  Munich. 

A  MEISENBACH  of  "  The  Old  Stone  Bridge  "  by  Kurtz. 

A  ZINC  ETCHING,  from  the  Engraving,  which  is  itself  as  fine 
as  an  engraving,  by  Stevens  &  Morris. 

A  CHARMING  CHILD  PORTRAIT,  by  Crosscup  &  West  s 
improved  process. 

THREE  MOSSTYPES  of  popular  subjects.  And 

NUMEROUS  CUTS,  DIAGRAMS,  Etc.,  throughout  the 
letter-press. 

The  "  Annual  "  is  a  yearly  publication  wherein  the  year's  progress  photographically 
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countries.  In  addition,  it  contains  an  almanac  and  calendar  ;  lists  of  American  and 
Foreign  photographic  societies,  with  their  officers  and  dates  of  meeting  ;  a  list  of  American 
and  Foreign  photographic  periodicals  ;  photographic  books  published  and  patents  issued 
during  the  year  ;  approved  formulae  for  all  the  photographic  processes  now  in  general  use  ; 
and  the  usual  tables  of  weights  and  measures,  chemical  equivalents,  specific  gravities,  etc., 
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The  size — royal  octavo — and  style  of  binding  is  uniform  with  last 
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iii 


American  Annual  of  Photography 


and  Photographic  Times  Almanac 


C.  W.  C^lSrp^IELlD  Kditor. 


 o  I-on.  1880  o  


SURPASSES  EVEN  ITS  TWO  PREDECESSORS. 

The  full-page  pictorial  illustrations  are  more  numerous  and  superior  in  quality  than 
have  ever  before  been  presented  in  any  Photographic  Annual,  and  the  reading-matter  is 
in  accord  with  the  high  standard  of  the  illustrations. 


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A  CHAEMING  POETEAIT  of  the  beautiful  Lillian  Russell,  from  a  negative  by  Falk,. 
printed  on  the  New  A  merican  A  ristotype  Paper. 

"  WATERING  HIS  HOESE."  A  characteristic  group,  by  Geo.  B.  Wood,  of  Philadelphia,, 
printed  in  Highest  Grade  Photo-gravure,  by  the  Photo-gravure  Co.,  New  York. 

"YES'M,  I'M  COMING."  A  picture  of  the  Small  Boy.  By  Gutekunst,  of  Philadelphia, 
in  his  exquisite  manner  of  mechanical  printing. 

"THE  AEAB  SHEIE."  A  study  of  Orthochromatic  Photography,  by  William  Kurtz, 
printed  by  the  Meisenbach  process. 

A  SCENE  IN  THE  TYEOLESE  ALPS.  From  an  original  photograph  by  Charles  Scolik. 
By  the  Crosscup  &  West  Engraving  Co. 

"THE  DI7EES."    An  instantaneous  study  on  a  Carbutt  plate,  reproduced  in  Meisenbach. 

"AFTER  THE  THBATEB."  Magnesium  Light  Negative.  By  Mons.  Flammang.  Repro- 
duced by  Photo-electro  Engraving  Co. 

"BY  THE  SEA."   An  Eastman  Bromide  Picture  of  Coney  Island.    By  E.  W.  Newcomb. 

THEEE  MOSSTYPES, 

 )and(  

SEVERAL  OTHER  FULL-PAGE  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


The  Standard  Formulae,  Useful  Receipts,  etc.,  have  been  thoroughly  revised  by  com- 
petent authorities,  rearranged  and  enlarged.  This  department  alone,  including,  as  it  does 
— Yearly  Calendar,  Eclipses,  the  Seasons,  Church  Days,  Holidays,  etc. ;  Monthly  Calendar, 
giving  Sunrise  and  Sunset  for  every  day  in  the  year;  Moon's  Phases;  also.  Dates  of 
Meetings  of  all  American  Photographic  Societies.  A  list  of  American  and  European  Pho- 
tographic Societies.  Photographic  Periodicals,  American  and  European.  Books  relating 
to  Photography,  published  in  1888.  Approved  Standard  Formulae  for  all  processes  now 
in  general  use.  Tables  of  Weights  and  Measures.  American  and  Foreign  Money  Values. 
Comparisons  of  Thermometric  Readings.  Comparisons  of  Barometric  Readings.  Sym- 
bols and  Atomicity  of  the  Chemical  Elements.  Symbols,  Chemical  and  Common  Names 
and  Solubilities  of  the  Substances  used  in  Photography.  Tables  for  Enlargements  and 
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iv 


The  Photographic  Instructor 


Scov 


ILL  S 


Ph 


OTOG 


RAPHic  Series  No.  26. 


FOR  THE  PROFESSIONAL  AND  AMATEUR. 


Editoci.    Toy  I.    Xjixxoolxx  .A.<3La,^[3a.m^ 

With  an  Appendix  by  Prof.  Charles  Ehrmann. 

The  most  thoroughly  practical  instruction  book  yet  published  and  the 
most  complete,  consisting,  as  it  does,  of  the  Comprehensive  Series  of 
Practical  Lessons  issued  to  the  students  of  the  Chautauqua  School  of 
Photography,  revised  and  enlarged,  with  an  Appendix  of  over  thirty  pages, 
on  the  Nature  and  Use  of  the  Various  Chemicals  and  Substances  Employed 
in  Photographic  Practice,  besides  valuable  Tables  of  References,  etc. 

The  original  Lessons  were  contributed  by  such  competent  photographic 
writers  as 

Charles  Wager  Hull,  Superintendent  of  the  Chautauqua  School  of  Photog- 
raphy ;   Prof.  Randall  Spaulding,   Superintendent  of  the  Montclair 
Public  Schools;    Prof.   Karl  Kl.\user,  of  Farmington,   Conn.  ; 
Dr.  Maurice  N.  Miller,  of  the  University  of  the  City  of  New 
York  ;  John  Carbutt,  the  well-known  Diy-plate  Manufac- 
turer of  Philadelphia ;    O.   G.   Mason,    of  Bellevue 
Hospital,  New  York  City;  Prof.  Chas.  Ehrmann, 
Instructor  of  the  Chautauqua  School  of  P  hotog- 
graphy ;   and   W.  L  Lincoln  Adams, 
Editor  of  the  PHOTOGRAPHIC  Times. 
Each  being  an  authority  on  the  subject  of  which  he  treats. 
The  Appendix  is  a  complete  chemistry  of  reference  in  itself,  and  is 
invaluable  to  every  photographic  worker. 

A  glance  at  the  complete  Table  of  Contents  show  the  scope  of  the  book  : 

Lessons. 

XV.    Photogfraphing  Interiors  and  In- 
animate Objects. 
Copying,  Enlarging,  and  Reduc- 


Lessons. 

Preface. 
Introduction. 


Apparatus. 

Management  of  Apparatus  in  the 

Field. 
The  Dark-room. 
Exposing. 
Developing. 

Fix  ing,  Washing,  Varnishing,  In- 
tensifying, and  Reducing. 

Printing  on  Albumenized  Paper. 

Printing  on  Various  Other  Papers. 

Printing  on  Permanent  Bromide 
Paper. 

Artistic  Printing. 

Trimming  and  Mounting  the  Prints. 
Spotting  and  Burnishing  the  Prints. 
Portraiture. 

Retouching  the  Negative. 


I. 
II. 

III. 
IV. 
V. 
VI. 

VII. 
VIII. 
IX. 

X. 
XI. 
XII. 
XIII. 
XIV. 

The  book  is  embellished  w^ith  Five  Full-page  Pictorial  Illustratio7is^  besides  numer- 
ous Cuts,  Diagrams,  etc.,  illustrating  the  letter-press. 

Two  hundred  pages  of  valuable  Reading  Matter,  uniform  in  type  and  page  w^ith  the 
other  numbers  of  the  excellent  series,  of  which  it  is  the  latest  issue. 

Price,  in  illuminated  paper  covers,     .       .       .     $0  75 
Price,  library  edition,  uniform  with  other  numbers 

of  the  series,  gilt  stamp  and  lettering,  -        1  25 
For  sale  by  all  dealers  in  photographic  goods,  or  sent  by  mail,  post-paid,  on 
receipt  of  price,  by  the  publishers, 

THE  SCOVILL  &  ADAMS  COMPANY. 


XVI. 

XVII.    Orthochromatic,  or  Color-sensitive 

Photography. 
XVIII.    Transparencies,  and  How  to  Make 
Them. 

XIX.    Landscape  Photography. 
XX,    Stereoscopic  Photography. 
XXI.    Light  and  Lenses. 
XXII.  Photo-micrography. 

XXIII.  Photographing  by  Artificial  Light. 

XXIV.  Emulsion  Making. 

Appendix  on  the  Nature  and  Use 
of  the  Various  Chemicals  and 
Substances  Employed  in  Photo- 
graphic Practice. 


TWO 

TH 

COMPLETE  ♦  PHOTO 


By  the:  Re:v 


The  Photographic  Negative" 

(Scovill's  Photographic  Series  No.  25.) 
A    PRACTICAL  GUIDE 

TO  THE  PREPARATION  OF  SENSITIVE  SURFACES  BY  THE 
CALOTYPE,  ALBUMEN,  COLLODION,  AND  GELATINE  PRO- 
CESSES, ON  GLASS  AND  PAPER,  WITH  SUPPLEMENTARY 
CHAPTER  ON  DEVELOPMENT,  Etc.,  Etc. 

CONTENDS. 

Chapter. 

Preface. 

I.   General  Remarks  on  Sensitive  Surfaces,  etc. 
II.   Preliminary  Remarks  on  Exposure,  Development,  Fixing,  etc. 

III.  Calotype. 

IV.  Sensitive  Surfaces  on  Glass— Preparation  of  the  Glass. 
V.   The  Albumen  Process. 

VI.   The  Old  Collodion  Process,  Wet  Plates. 
VII.   The  Collodion  Process,  Dry  Plates. 
VIII.    Collodion  Emulsion— Collodio-bromide  of  Silver. 
IX.   The  Gelatine  Process. 
X.    Coating:  the  Plates. 
XI.    Development,  Fixing,  etc. 

XII.   Paper  Negatives— Stripping  Films  on  Paper,  Card-board,  and  Collodion, 

XIII.  Failures  in  the  Gelatino-bromide  Process. 

XIV.  Methods  of  Stripping  Films  from  Glass  Plates. 
XV.    Color-sensitive  Plates. 

XVI.   Black  and  White  Negatives. 
XVII.   Instantaneous  Photography. 
XVIII.   TouchiDg-up  the  Negative. 
XIX.  Photo-micrography. 
XX.  Micro-photography. 

XXI.   The  Transformation  of  Negatives  into  Positives. 
XXII.   Obernetter's  Method  for  the  Direct  Production  of  Negatives  from  Negatives. 
Index. 

It  contains  a  Meisenbach  Frontispiece  of  a  pictorial  subject  from  a 
negative  made  b);-  the  author.  Full  description  of  his  method  for  making 
the  Emulsion  ;  also,  much  other  valuable  information,  never  before  pub- 
lished. 

Profusely  illustrated  with  cuts,  two  full-page  pictorial  Mosstypes,  and 
more  than  two  hundred  pages  of  valuable  reading  matter. 

Price,  cloth  bound,  with  gilt  stamp  and  lettering,  $1.50. 

For  sale  by  all  dealers  in  photographic  goods,  or  sent,  post-paid,  by 
mail,  on  receipt  of  price,  by  the  publishers, 

THE  SCOVILL  &  ADAMS  COMPANY. 


300KSsE====:=. 

iRM  A 

GRAPHIC  ♦  LIBRARY, 

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A  Practical  Guide  for  the  Professional  and 
Amateur  Worker. 

A  volume   of  more   than   two   hundred   pages,    profusely  illustrated. 
Thoroughl)^  Practical. 

CONTENTS. 

Chapter. 

Introduction— Theory  of  Light  ;  Action  of  Light  upon  Sensitive  Compounds  ; 
Resume  of  Printing  Processes. 
I.    Printing  with  Iron  and  Uranium  Compounds. 
II.   The  Silver  Bath. 
HI.    Fuming  and  Printing. 

IV.  Toning  and  Fixing— Washing. 

V.  Printing  on  other  than  Albumen  Paper. 
VI.   The  Platinotype. 

VII.    Printing  witii  Emulsions. 
VIII.    Mounting  the  Prints. 
IX.    Carbon  Printing. 

X.   Printing  on  Fabrics. 
XI.  Enlargements. 

XII.   Transparencies  and  Lantern-Slides. 

XIII.  Opal  and  Poi'celain  Printing. 

XIV.  Photo-Ceramics— Enameled  Intaglios. 

XV.  Photo  Mechanical  Printing  Methods. 

XVI.  Various  Methods  for  Putting  Pictures  on  Blocks  and  Metal  Plates  for  the  use  of 

the  Engraver. 

XVII.  Recovery  of  Silver  from  Photographic  Waste— Preparation  of  Silver  Nitrate, 

Etc. 
Index. 


The  only  book  in  photographic  literature  to-day,  which  covers  this 
ground,  and  it  does  so  completely. 

It  contains  two  (2)  full-page  illustrations,  which  alone  are  worth  the 
price  asked  for  the  complete  book. 

Price,  in  substantial  cloth   binding-,  uniform  with 
"The  Photographic  Negative,"  $1.00. 

For  sale  by  all  dealers  in  photographic  goods,  or  sent,  post-paid,  by 
mail,  on  receipt  of  price,  by  the  publishers, 

THE  SCOVILL  &  ADAMS  COMPANY. 

vii 


THE  COMPLETE  WORKS 

OF 

H.  P.  ROBINSON. 

The  Art  and  Practice  of  Silver 

Printing.  (Third  Edition.)  Paper  covers, 
50  cents.    Library  edition,  75  cents. 

Picture  Making  by  Photography. 

Finely  illustrated.  Paper  covers,  75  cents. 
Library  edition,  ll.OO. 

The  Studio :  and  What  to  do  in  it. 

Finely  illustrated.  Paper  covers,  75  cents. 
Library  edition,  $1.00. 

Pictorial  Effect  in  Photography. 

Finely  illustrated.  Paper  covers,  $1.00. 
Cloth  bound,  $1.50. 

Letters  on  Landscape  Photography, 

with  Photogravure  Portrait  of  Author,  and 
other  illustrations.    Cloth  bound,  $1.50. 

The  Pictorial  Effect  in  Photog- 

raphy.  Finely  illustrated.  A  new  edition 
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viii 


[NUMBER  NINJETEEN  OF  SCOVILL'S  PHOTOGRAPHIC  SERIESj, 

By  w.  I.  chadwick:. 
Third  Edition  just  issued.  With  105  Practical  Illustrations. 


154  pages,  7x4?;^,  cloth  bound  75c. 


Bky  Plate  Makih© 

[Number  twenty  of  Scovill's  photographic  series]. 

By  QE)0.  L.  SINCLAIR.,  ML.D. 

Reprinted  from  "TJiePhotogrphicTimes,' '  with  additions  and  corrections. 


A  SERIES  OF  PRACTICAL  ARTICLES  ON 

•/^DQaleui*  Etr)ulsi0r)  rF)ca:^ir)^  ;   ^l)e   ^irr)ple   ^etppciliar)  0^ 


THE  EMULSION, 

WASHING, 

MELTING, 
A  RAPID  EMULSION 


IT  TREA  TS  OF  

GELATINE, 

PREPARING  THE  GLASS 
FOR  COATING, 

COATING,  Etc.,  Etc. 


Royal  octavo,  leatherette  binding  50c. 


Photographic  Publications. 

Selected  from  Scovill's  Catalogue  of  Books. 

•  Price, 
Per  Copy. 

HOW  TO  MAKE  PHOTOGRAPHS —Containing  full  instructions  for  making  Paper 
Negatives,   Sent  free  to  any  practitioner  of  the  art.    New  edition  just  out. 

ART  RECREATIONS.— A  guide  to  decorative  art.  Ladies'  popular  guide  in  home 

decorative  work.    Edited  by  Marion  Kemble  $2  00 

THE  FERROTYPERS'  GUIDE.— Cheap  and  complete.    For  the  ferrotyper,  this 

is  the  only  standard  work.    Seventh  thousand   75 

THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  STUDIOS  OF  EUROPE.-By  H.  Baden  Pritchard, 

F.C.S.    Paper,  50  cts.  ;  Cloth   i  00 

HISTORY  AND  HAND-BOOK  OF  PHOTOGRAPHY.-Translated  from  the 

French  of  Gaston  Tissandier,  with  seventy  illustrations.    Cloth   2  00 

AMERICAN  CARBON  MANUAL.— For  those  who  want  to  try  the  carbon  print- 
ing process,  this  work  gives  the  most  detailed  information.    Cloth   i  00 

MANUAL  DE  FOTOGRAFIA.— By  Augustus  Le  Plongeon.     (Hand-Book  for 

Spanish  Photographers.)    Reduced  to   i  00 

SECRETS  OF  THE  DARK  CHAMBER.—  By  D.  D.  T.  Davie   i  00 

A  COMPLETE  TREATISE  ON  SOLAR  CRAYON  PORTRAITS  AND 
TRANSPARENT  LIQUID  WATER-COLORS.— By  J.  A.  Barhydt.  Practical 
ideas  and  directions  given.  Amateurs  will  learn  ideas  of  color  from  this  book 
that  will  be  of  value  to  them.  And  any  one  by  carefully  following  the  directions 
on  Crayon,  will  be  able  to  make  a  good  Crayon  Portrait   50 

THE  BRITISH  JOURNAL  ALMANAC  FOR  1888   25 

PHOTO.  NEWS  YEAR  BOOK  OF  PHOTOGRAPHY  for  1888   25 

PADDLE  AND  PORTAGE.— By  Thomas  Sedgwick  Steele    i  50 

AMERICAN  HAND-BOOK  OF  THE  DAGUERREOTYPE.— By  S.  D.  Hum- 
phrey. (Fifth  Edition.)  This  book  contains  the  various  processes  employed  in 
taking  Heliographic  impressions   10 

THE  NEW  PRACTICAL  PHOTOGRAPHIC  ALMANAC- Edited  by  J.  H. 

FiTZGIBBON   25 

MOSAICS  FOR  1870,  1871,  1872,  1873,  1875,  1882,  1883,  1884, 1885,  1886, 1887, 1888,  each  25 

BRITISH  JOURNAL  ALMANAC  FOR  1878,  1882,  1883,  1887                         "  25 

PHOTO.  NEWS  YEAR-BOOK  OF  PHOTOGRAPHY  FOR  1870,  1871,  1887...  .  25 

THE  PHOTOGRAPHER'S  FRIEND  ALMANAC  FOR  1873   25 

ART  OF  MAKING  PORTRAITS  IN  CRAYON  ON  SOLAR  ENLARGE- 
MENTS.   (Second  Edition).    By  E.  Long.    Price   50 

PHOTOGRAPHY  APPLIED  TO  SURVEYING.    Illustrated.    By  Lieut.  Henry 

A.  Reed,  U.S.A.    Cloth  bound   2  50 

AMERICAN  ALMANAC  OF  PHOTOGRAPHY   25 

X 


ScoYill's  Complete  Photographic  Series. 

Price, 
Per  Copy . 

No.  I.— THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  AMATEUR.—  By  J.  Traill  Taylor.  A  Guide 
to  the  Young  Photographer,  either  Professional  or  Amateur.  (Second 
Edition.)    Paper  covers,  50  cents.    Library  Edition   $1  00 

No.  2.— THE  ART  AND  PRACTICE  OF  SILVER  PRINTING.— By  H.  P.  Robin- 
son and  Capt.  W.  de  W.  Abney,  R.E.,  F.R.S.  (Third  Edition.)  Paper 
covers,  50  cents.    Library  Edition   75 

No.  3. — Out  of  print. 

No.  4.— HOW  TO  MAKE  PICTURES.— By  Henry  Clay  Price.    (Fourth  edition.) 

The  A  B  C  of  Dry-Plate  Photography.  Paper  covers,  50  cents.  Library 
Edition   75 

No.  5.— PHOTOGRAPHY  WITH  EMULSIONS.— By  Capt.  W.  De  W.  Abney, 
R.E.  F.R.S.  A  treatise  on  the  theory  and  practical  working  of  Gelatine 
and  Collodion  Emulsion  Processes.   (Second  Edition.)   1  00 

No.  6. — No.  17  has  taken  the  place  of  this  book. 

No.  7.— THE  MODERN  PRACTICE  OF  RETOUCHING  — As  practiced  by  M. 

Piguepe,  and  other  celebrated  experts.    (Fourth  Edition)   50 

No.  8.— THE  SPANISH  EDITION  OF  HOW  TO  MAKE  PICTURES.— Ligeras 

Lecciones  sobre  Fotografia  Dedicados  a  Los  Aficionados   i  00 

No.  9.— TWELVE  ELEMENTARY  LESSONS  IN  PHOTOGRAPHIC  CHEM- 
ISTRY.— Presented  in  very  concise  and  attractive  shape.  (Second  Edition.)  25 

No.  10.— Out  of  print. 

No.  II. — Out  of  print. 

No.  12.— HARDWICH'S  PHOTOGRAPHIC  CHEMISTRY.— A  manual  of  photo- 
graphic chemistry,  theoretical  and  practical.  Ninth  Edition.  Edited  by 
J.  Traill  Taylor.    Leatherette  Binding   2  00 

No.  13.— TWELVE    ELEMENTARY    LESSONS    ON    SILVER  PRINTING. 

(Second  Edition)   50 

No.  14.— ABOUT  PHOTOGRAPHY  AND  PHOTOGRAPHERS.-A  series  of  in- 
teresting essays  for  the  studio  and  study,  to  w^hich  is  added  European 
Rambles  with  a  Camera.    By  H.  Baden  Pritchard,  F.C.S   50 

No.  15.— THE  CHEMICAL  EFFECT  OF  THE  SPECTRUM.— By  Dr.  J.  M. 

Eder   25 

No.  16.— PICTURE  MAKING  BY  PHOTOGRAPHY.—  By  H.  P.  Robinson. 

Author  of  Pictorial  Effect  in  Photography.    Written  in  popular  form  and 
finely  illustrated.    Paper  covers,  75  cents.    Library  Edition   i  00 

No.  17.— FIRST  LESSONS  IN  AMATEUR  PHOTOGRAPHY.—  By  Prof.  Ran- 
dall Spaui.ding.  a  series  of  popular  lectures,  giving  elementary  instruc- 
tion in  dry-plate  photography,  optics,  etc.  (Second  Edition.)  Paper 
covers,  25  cents.    Library  Edition   75 

No.  18.— THE  STUDIO:  AND  WHAT  TO   DO  IN  IT.— By  H.  P.  Robinson. 

Author  of  Pictorial  Effect  in  Photography,  Picture  Making  by  Photog- 
raphy, etc.    Paper  covers,  75c.    Library  Edition.   ....    i  00 

No.  19.— THE  MAGIC  LANTERN  MANUAL.— (Third    edition.)     By  W.  I. 

Chadvvick.    With  one  hundred  and  five  practical  illustrations  ;  cloth  bound.  75 

No.  20.— DRY  PLATE  MAKING  FOR  AMATEURS.— By  Geo.  L.  Sinclair,  M.D. 

Pointed,  practical,  and  plain.    Leatherette  binding   50 

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GRAPHIC TIMES  ALMANAC  FOR  1887.— (Second  Edition.)  Paper  cover  50 
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No.  22.— PHOTOGRAPHIC  PRINTING  METHODS.— By  the  Rev.  W.  H.  Bur- 
bank.  A  Practical  Guide  to  the  Professional  and  Amateur  Worker.  Cloth 
bound    I  00 

No.  23.~A  HISTORY  OF  PHOTOGRAPHY  :  Written  as  a  Practical  Guide  and  an 
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and  containing  a  frontispiece  of  the  author.    Cloth  bound   i  00 

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ation of  sensitive  surfaces  by  the  calotype,  albumen,  collodion,  and  gelatine 
processes,  on  glass  and  paper,  with  supplementary  chapter  on  development, 
etc..  by  the  Rev.  W.  H.  Burbank.    Cloth  bound   i  50 

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xi 


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xvii 


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GIHON'S  OPAQUE. 

Is  designed  for  completely  obscuring  the  imperfect  backgrounds 
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the  inside  of  lenses  or  cameras,  backing  solar  negatives,  cover- 
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xviii 


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2i       "    1  25 

3  "    1  75 

3i  inch  Lerts   2  25 

4  "    3  25 

4i       "    3  75 


RETOUCHING  FRAMES. 


No.  1,  for  1-4  to  8  X  10  negatives, 

black  walnut  $3  75 

No.  2,  for  1-4  to  11  x  14  negatives, 

black  walnut   7  50 


They  have  a  drawer  and  all 
modern  improvements. 


the 


For  sale  by 

THE  SCOVILL  &  ADAMS  COMPANY. 


TWELVE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  STUDIES. 


No.  1. 


-A  COLLECTION  of  PHOTOGEAVUEES  from  the  BEST  EEPRESENTATIVE  PHOTOGEAPHIC 
NEGATIVES  by  LEADING  PHOTOGEAPHIC  ATBISTS.  The  Collection  includes- 


"  From  Dawn  to  Sunset,".. H.  P.  Robinson. 

"Childhood"  H.  McMichael. 

"  As  Age  Steals  On  "  J.  F.  Ryder. 

"  A  Portrait  Study  "  B.  J.  Falk. 

"  Solid  Comfort"  John  E.  Dumont. 


Ophelia"  H.  P.  Robinson. 

No  Barrier  "   F.  A.  Jackson. 

El  Capitan"  W.  H.  Jackson. 

Still  Waters"  J.  J.  Montgomery. 

Surf"  James  F.  Cowee. 


A  Horse  Race  "  George  Barker. 

"  Hi,  Mister,  may  we  have  some  Apples  ?  "  Geo.  B.  Wood. 

Printed  on  Japan  Paper,  mounted  on  boards.  Size  11x14,  in  ornamental 
port-folio  envelope.    Price,  $3.00.     Sent  post-paid  on  receipt  of  price. 

THE  SCOVILL  &  ADAMS  COMPANY. 


DOUBLE  NUMBER  of  the  PHOTOGRAPHIC  TIMES  for  1888. 

 CONTAINING  

A  Photogravure  Frontispiece,  from  a  negative  by  H.  P.  Robinson. 

*'  Niagara  in  Winter,"  also  in  Photogravure  John  E.  Dumont. 

"  Instantaneous  Studies  in  Italy  "  W.  J,  Stillman, 


Prof.  W. 


K.  Burton. 


3oS\S 


 AND  ARTICLES  BY  

W.  I.  Lincoln  Adams, 
.G.S.  C.  W.  Canfield, 

John  Carbutt, 
Prof.  Peter  T.  Austin, 


Dr.  Julius  Schnauss, 
Frank  La  Manna, 
W.  J.  Hickmott, 
Miss  Adelaide  Skeel, 

A  71  d  others. 


1,  Prof.  Karl  Klauser, 

nailed  to  any  address  on  receipt  of  15  cents. 

:OVER,  Pictorial,  and  illustrating  DRAWINGS  THROUGH- 
is.  TWENTY-EIGHT  pages  of  Reading  Matter,  IN  ADDI- 
PAGE  PLATES.  Just  the  thing  to  mail  to  a  friend  who  is 
raphy. 

THE  PHOTOGEAPHIC  TIMES  PUBLISHING  ASSOCIATION. 


XIX 


S.  p.  C.  RETOUCHING  FLUID, 

For  Varnished  or  Unvarnished  Negatives. 
Price,  per  bottle,      -      -      25  cents. 

GIHON'S  OPAQUE. 

Is  designed  for  completely  obscuring  the  imperfect  backgrounds 
of  copies,  retouching  faulty  skies  in  landscape  negatives,  coating 
the  inside  of  lenses  or  cameras,  backing  solar  negatives,  cover- 
ing vignetting  boards,  etc.,  etc.  Wherever  you  want  to  keep  out 
light,  use  Opaque.  It  is  applied  with  a  brush,  dries  quickly  and 
sticks.    Price,  per  box  $0  50 


RED  SABLE  BRUSHES. 

In  Tin  Ferrules.    Cedar  Handles. 
For  Fine  Painting  in  Oil  Colors,  or  for  Coloring  Ferrotypes. 

No.  Each.    No.  Each.     No.  Per  Doz.     No.  Per  Doz. 

1  $0  07     7  $0  18     1  $0  80     7  $2  12^ 

2   08     8   20     2   83     8   2  25 

3   09     9   22     3   I  00     9   2  50 

4    10    10   24     4   1  15    10   2  75 

5   12    11   30     5    1  25    11   3  37 

6   15    12   38     6   1  50    12   4  25 


RETOUCHING  PENCILS. 


Finest  Siberian. 

Faber's,  1  to  4  B's,  soft,  each  $0  15 

HB  &  F,  middling,  each   ^  ^ 

"       1  to  4  H's,  hard,  each  

The  above,  Hexagon,  per  doz   1 

Holders  for  Leads,  each  .  . .  

Crowell's  Metallic  Leads,  each  

Wor  Sale  by 

THE  SCOVILL  &  ADAMS  COMPANY 


xviii 


RETOUCHING  CLASSES. 

German  Silver  Band.    Ebony  Handle. 

Each. 

2  inch  Lens  SO  85 

2i       "    1  25 

3    1  75 

3i  inch  Lens   2  25 

4  "    3  25 

U       "    3  75 


RETOUCHING  FRAMES. 


No.  1,  for  1-4  to  8  X  10  negatives, 

black  walnut  $3  75 

No.  2,  for  1-4  to  11  x  14  negatives, 

black  walnut   7  50 


They  have  a  drawer  and  all 
modern  improvements. 


the 


For  sale  by 

THE  SOOVILL  &  ADAMS  COMPANY. 

TWELVE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  STUDIES. 


No.  l.-A  COLLECTION  of  PHOTOQEAVUEES  from  the  BEST  EEPEESENTATIVE  PHOTOaEAPHIC 
NEGATIVES  by  LEADING  PHOTOGEAPHIC  ATEISTS.  The  Collection  includes— 


"  From  Dawn  to  Sunset, "..H.  P.  Robinson. 

"Childhood"  H.  McMichael. 

"As  Age  Steals  On  "  J.  F.  Ryder. 

"  A  Portrait  Study  "  B.  J.  Falk. 

"Solid  Comfort"  John  E.  Dumont. 


Ophelia"  H.  P.  Robinson. 

No  Barrier  "   F.  A.  Jackson. 

El  Capitan"  W.  H.  Jackson. 

■  Still  Waters "  J.  J.  Montgomery. 

Surf"  James  F.  Cowee. 


A  Horse  Race  "  George  Barker. 

"  Hi,  Mister,  may  we  have  some  Apples?  "  Geo.  B.  Wood. 

Printed  on  Japan  Paper,  mounted  on  boards.  Size  1 1x14,  in  ornamental 
port-folio  envelope.    Price,  $3.00.     Sent  post-paid  on  receipt  of  price. 

THE  SCOVILL  &  ADAMS  COMPANY. 


DOUBLE  NUMBER  of  the  PHOTOGRAPHIC  TIMES  for  1888. 

 CONTAINING  

A  Photogravure  Frontispiece,  from  a  negative  by    H.  P.  Robinson. 

"  Niagara  in  Winter,"  also  in  Photogravure  John  E.  Dumont. 

"  Instantaneous  Studies  in  Italy  "  W.  J.  Stillman, 

 AND  ARTICLES  BY  


Prof.  W.  K.  Burton, 

W.  Jerome  garrison,  F.G.S. 

Rev.  W.  H.  Burbank, 

W.  J.  Stillman, 

Prof.  Charles  Ehrmann, 


Dr.  Julius  Schnauss, 
Frank  La  Manna, 
W.  J.  Hickmott, 
Miss  Adelaide  Skeel, 

A  nd  others. 


W.  I.  Lincoln  Adams, 
C.  W.  Canfield, 
John  Carbutt, 
Prof.  Peter  T.  Austin, 
Prof.  Karl  Klauser, 
WIN  be  mailed  to  any  address  on  receipt  of  15  cents. 
NEW  SPECIAL  COVER,  Pictorial,  and  illustrating  DRAWINGS  THROUGH- 
OUT the  Letter-Press.    TWENTY-EIGHT  pages  of  Reading  Matter,  IN  ADDI- 
TION to  the  FULL-PAGE  PLATES.   Just  the  thing  to  mail  to  a  friend  who  is 
interested  in  Photography. 

THE  PEOTOGEAPHIC  TIMES  PUBLISHING  ASSOCIATION. 


xix 


i 


I 


